Naruto of the Leaf
by adisturbance22
Summary: Naruto is a just another orphan of the Leaf Village as far as nearly everyone is concerned. Watch as he grows into a legend in a village dedicated to producing it's most valuable resource, shinobi.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue - The Decision

"Report." The simple statement came with a great weight of command, the intent behind it punctuated by the austere bunker it was made in. Jiraiya took a shallow breath as Sarutobi Hiruzen stood before him, once more having donned the ceremonial robes of the Fire Shadow, it nearly overwhelmed the Sannin.

"I have inspected the…" he paused choking back sorrow, "the subject. To the extent of my knowledge there is no interaction whatsoever," Jiraiya stopped, he could not bring himself to touch on the matter more specifically. Taking a deep draw of his customary pipe Sarutobi considered the situation.

"We shall have to proceed differently the mystery will have to be our ally, a sufficient deterrent in our weakened state. We have much to do, you understand your place?" Sarutobi pierced Jiraiya with a commanding look. The Sannin shoulders and heart sunk, he had hoped.

"Yes Sensei, it is what must be. As for the subject?"

"The Will of Fire will triumph, that is why we are all here. We must be circumspect, no one can suspect. We stand on the brink of destruction and our only hope is subterfuge while we recover." With that the Sandaime ascended to once more lead Konohagakure in the midst of chaos.

Chapter One - The Orphan in the Leaves

Water tumbled gently over the the rock laden creek, its music accompanied by pregnant silence. No animals remained, the trees stood strong and still, and the open field appeared empty. With a violent speed two forms came together, arms flashing in an organized storm of strike and parry. Feet shifted subtly seeking advantage through the keenest of positioning. As sudden as the start the forms broke apart, standing several yards away, measuring the one opposite with confident grins.

"Have you been out late with Miku again, you seem sluggish today," one cracked.

"I'm not the one who seems a step slow, you drink too much," the other parried, bringing a grin to both faces.

"Of course I do!" The first replied with a grin. Both gathered themselves for another rush when they both took a cursory glance to one side. "He's back."

"So he is, that little guy is getting sneakier by the day, should we chase him off? He really isn't supposed to be in a Jounin training area." The other shrugged.

"He will just come back, he is always trying to pick up something by watching us pros work, you gotta give the little guy credit he is probably going to be bossing us around someday. What's his name again?"

"He is one of the orphans," that sobered them both quick. "His name is Naruto."

"It was so awesome today! You should have seen how fast they were moving, I could barely keep up with my eyes!" Naruto said to his bun haired companion. Naruto and Tenten walked through one of the clan districts together having met up after the blonde had extricated himself from the training ground he had illicitly visited. Tenten smiled back at her friend's exuberance while she idly flipped a kunai between her hands. She had been one of the lucky orphans, having been adopted by a local smith and his wife, Naruto had not been. Tenten smiled at her friend nothing would change between them in spite of her new family.

"I'm glad you had fun but you really need to stop sneaking onto the Jounin training grounds, it's illegal because it is dangerous, you could get hurt Naruto!" Tenten scolded her smile turning to a stern frown. Naruto just scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Who cares! I have to become an awesome ninja and I have to watch the strongest ninjas around to learn the right techniques to become awesome!" Tenten sighed no one could reason with Naruto, it was just the way he was. Shrugging hopelessly the two continued walking to the public training ground where they usually played and recently had begun practicing the exercises that Tenten's dad had shown them. As they walked Naruto continued to describe the exploits he had seen while watching various ninja around the village.

"Hey isn't that Hyuuga Hinata?" Tenten asked suddenly after a few minutes of listening to Naruto's exclamations. Just a little ways ahead of them the well known heiress of the infamous Hyuuga clan walked with an older attendant.

"Yeah, I saw her at the academy sign-up last week," Naruto responded as the heiress rounded the corner ahead. "Let's catch up and say hi!" With that the blonde took off, Tenten found herself sighing once more as she moved to match stride with her impulsive friend. As the duo rounded the corner they both stopped in shock. As the heiress and her attendant passed under a tree just up the street a figure dropped out of the tree behind them and jammed a blade into the back of the attendant covering his mouth as the figure did so. Before anyone could so much as react, the figure dressed in dark blue clothing, dropped the attendant as blood splashed from a mortal wound and swept an odd bag over Hinata's head. The whole act took barely a handful of seconds as the figure, a ninja, picked up the sack he turned to see Tenten and Naruto looking on jaws agape.

"Hey you stop!" Naruto yelled all of a sudden. The ninja paused for a moment looking at the duo before shaking his head once.

"No witnesses," he said, voice steely and quiet. With that the ninja loosed two shuriken at the children. With a lurch Naruto leapt into Tenten shoving her out of the way and cried out as a shuriken struck him. Collapsing to the ground lances of agony pulsed through him, Naruto's eyes grew wild, a full half of a shuriken was lodged in his left arm. Through a haze of pain, as blood began to flow in rivulets, Naruto recognized a blur of movement that brought the harrowing visage of the assassin directly before the two children. Death stalked above the youths a kunai poised to snatch life once more from residents of Konoha.

Gore showered the children, frozen in place knowing their lives were forfeit. _Beat. Beat. Beat._ Naruto was brought partly out of shock by the hammering of his own heart in his chest. _'Alive?'_ he asked himself. Eyes coming back in focus Naruto caught the dull gleam of a ninjato leaving his would-be killer's throat. The assassin collapsed in a familiar bloody heap, behind him stood a silent figure. Wearing the vaguely familiar body armor and the most disturbing of accessories, a white mask. The silent figure flicked gore off of its blade with a quick twitch before sheathing the tool.

"You seem to be hurt please allow my associates to take you to the hospital," Naruto nodded dumbly as Tenten began to sob softly. A number of other ANBU and ninja appeared as if all of a sudden, the previous silence of violence replaced with a frenetic din of activity as ninja of a host of departmental disciplines descended upon the scene. Naruto hardly recalled the sensation of being delivered to the hospital via shunshin his mind was in a distant place. _'This is what a shinobi can do,'._

"What is the seminar about tonight? There are so many people here!" A dark haired man complained to his companion. The companion smacked him upside the head.

"Of course there are you idiot! The Hokage himself is giving the lecture and demonstration tonight!" The two continued to bicker paying little attention to the blonde directly in front of them that was practically hopping up and down. Standing near one of Konoha's open training areas Naruto stood with a massive crowd of all shapes and sizes waiting eagerly for one of the most powerful ninja in the world to lead the evening's seminar. Naruto was an ardent attendee of the village's Shinobi Seminar Series, several times a week the village hosted lectures and demonstrations on every feasible element of the ninja discipline,"From Flossing to Flames" as the series slogan went. The blonde had wiggled himself to the front of the training area where there was an open clearing that, for the moment, stood empty.

With a swirl of leaves the familiar figure of Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared alongside another unfamiliar character dressed in standard Jonin garb. An excited buzz filled the clearing as the attention of hundreds focused in on a living legend. The Hokage allowed the excitement to percolate for a few moments before raising his hand for quiet.

"Welcome to this evening's portion of the the Shinobi Seminar Series, I am humbled that several of you made time to come to my seminar." The crowd laughed as Hiruzen chuckled, "several" was a severe understatement. "The Seminar Series is an important facet of how Konoha takes care of its own. This village, since its founding, has been dedicated to the development of all its inhabitants. In that effort we make public all manner of material for the betterment of all, because in Konohagakure we say, "In every seed awaits a tree"," to this the crowd cheered again until Sarutobi quieted them once more. "Now for our program this evening Jinn will begin by demonstrating his most potent technique," Sarutobi motioned to the ninja standing next to him.

The ninja, Jinn, immediately turned to one of the nearby training posts and launched into a long series of hand seals. Suddenly the air in the clearing became heavy, as if in anticipation of the fury to come. Jinn, drawing out his chakra visibly, completed his series of hand seals and with quiet confidence spoke.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Technique!" With a deep breath and the tiger seal held to his lips an inferno in the shape of a dragon burned forth from his mouth and raged into the training post. The entire training area was filled with the sound of the conflagration and heat was felt by all. Naruto, standing near the front, had to squint his eyes due to the brightness of the technique. As quickly as it had begun it ended, the training post was gone and a line of earth before and beyond where it had stood were blackened and smoking. The powerful inferno was followed abruptly by silence, a silence Sarutobi stepped into.

"An impressive technique, one Jinn should be proud of and that I commend him for mastering. Those of you who are familiar with Fire techniques understand how devastating what you just witnessed truly was, to find yourself on the receiving end of something like that your chances of survival are slim." Sarutobi paused for a moment taking in the rapt attention of his villagers, seeing them fully engaged he allowed himself a small satisfied grin and continued. "Again Jinn." The ninja opposite the Hokage turned to face the robed speaker and immediately began to run through hand seals, it took but a moment before the onlookers broke out in excited and nervous whispers. As suddenly as he had begun Jinn arrived at the end of his sequence and announced his technique.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Technique!" Heat and fury charged forth at the seemingly unprepared Hokage to the growing horror of everyone in the seminar. The fire, having been given the shape of a fierce dragon, bore down and exploded sending dust and flame everywhere. Quiet settled upon the clearing and Naruto craned his neck to see what had become of the living legend. Jinn stood panting in the quiet and as the tension stretched murmurs began to bubble up amongst the attendees. Then, like some terrible zombie, Sarutobi Hiruzen ascended from the ground directly behind Jinn wearing a broad smile while tapping the younger ninja on the shoulder with a bright kunai. Jinn bowed humbly and stepped out of the clearing as the Hokage turned to his audience.

"As I said Jinn is to be commended for the dedication and power that is required to execute such a devastating technique. There are times when such a powerful technique can turn the tide of a fight or even a battle we mustn't understate the value of such a force; however, battle in the real world is never simply decided by who is capable of bringing the most power to bear. Jinn expended a large amount of his chakra in his attack, to counteract it I made use of a simple D-ranked Technique. The Subterranean Voyage was able to neutralize Jinn's application of the Great Dragon Flame, for a fraction of the chakra cost while also providing me an excellent positioning advantage. As my sensei, Senju Tobirama, used to say ,"What is of supreme importance in battle is to attack the enemy's strategy." Jinn effectively exhausted himself for no gain while I was able to place myself in an advantageous position for little investment. We are ninja first and foremost, which means we must not rely on power alone, power must be tempered with intelligence and precision. Thank you for attending my humble seminar on your way out we will be passing out a complimentary copy of the Subterranean Voyage and as always a copy of 1000 Sayings of the Senju by Senju Tobirama."

Naruto rushed to the exit of the seminar and greedily excepted the book and the scroll that the attending Chunin were handing out. The blonde looked adoringly at the scroll in his hands.

"My first technique! I'm going to kick ass with this!"

Naruto tossed his scroll to the ground in frustration. How was he supposed to perfect his first technique if he didn't even know how to use his Chakra?! The blonde had been toying around in an empty training ground for hours reading and rereading his scroll but no matter how many times he did the hand seals and announced the name of his technique the Seven-Year-Old couldn't so much as get his toes to sink into the earth. After hours failure Naruto had come to the realization that the technique was useless to him until he figured out how to use Chakra. The boy slumped to the ground in defeat absently staring into the woods around him.

"How I am supposed to learn to use Chakra?" Predictably there were no answers forthcoming in the empty clearing. Naruto took in his surroundings as he calmed down: the enormous trees, the distant sounds of wildlife, the breeze, and more than anything the feel of the warm earth beneath him still but somehow alive. His eyes landed upon the book he had received with his scroll that he had discarded as he had hurried into the clearing to practice his technique. "1000 Sayings of the Senju" the title read, Naruto got back to his feet and moved to gather it. "If there are really 1000 sayings there must be some about Chakra," he murmured. The would be ninja opened the book and began to read.

 _"I have undertaken to collect the saying of my clan as both a memoir and as a resource of practical value for the Leaf Village. The Senju clan was once a dominant force in the elemental nations and under the leadership of my brother, Hashirama, we led the elemental nations into the age it currently exists. As such Konoha is the most significant remnant of the Senju Legacy. May the wisdom that has guided the Senju now light the way for the proud Shinobi of Konoha, each of whom is an honorary member of the Senju Clan."_ Naruto scratched his head, there were a lot of big words in here but if this really was the ninja wisdom of the clan that produced the first two Hokage then he was all in. He found himself daydreaming of what it might be like to have a clan like the Senju to help him become a ninja, reading the passage again Naruto began grinning like a loon _'This book says, I'm already an honorary member of the Senju Clan so I need to learn my clan's teachings!'_. Eagerly the boy flipped pages until he found a section about Chakra.

 _"The use of Chakra is the essential element that differentiates a Shinobi from any other individual capable in the art of war and subterfuge. Thus it is paramount that each ninja be dedicated in the developing their capability in the use of Chakra. Chakra is the mix of Spiritual and Physical energy within the body. By the continual mastery of Spirit and Body and ninja will not only increase their Chakra capacity but also their capability in its usage. Stated simply a ninja must seek to "know" themselves through meditation and similar training to find the spark within them where these energies naturally coalesce. Then through further training and "knowing" the proficient will begin to learn to direct those energies."_ Naruto dropped the book, meditation?! He sighed in disappointment, he had to meditate and find some "knowing" of himself before he could use his first technique? That sounded lame.

"No time like the present," crossing his legs and resting his hands in his lap Naruto closed his eyes to look for himself. Under him the earth waited.

"Welcome the the Konoha Ninja Academy, each of you have been accepted into this seven year program that serves as entry into the ninja force of Konoha. I'm your Sensei, Iruka, and am pleased to be your home room instructor for the duration of your time in this academy. Please come to me first from here on out with any questions or concerns." The brown haired Chunin smiled to his class as they all stared back eagerly. Naruto sat near the front of the tiered lecture hall, next to several other kids his age. For several months Naruto had been training around Konoha, when his application had been accepted to attend the Academy his Trainee Ninja License had been stamped to allow him to attend the village seminars. Now though the Academy was beginning and Naruto could hardly contain his excitement to begin a more formal training.

 _"Though 1000 Sayings has already taught me so much that I have barely begun to learn,"_ the blonde thought as he absorbed his new Sensei's greetings.

"As some of you may be aware there are essentially two elements to the Academy curriculum. First are lessons, from 8 am to 3 pm you will be participating in these structured lessons. Lessons include History, Arithmetic, Science, and Reading," these were met with groans that brought a wry grin to the scarred Chunin face. "Along with Academy Taijutsu, Weapons Training, Chakra Training, Fitness and Health, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Medical Training," this was met much more positively by the collected children. These lessons are meant to provide you with a firm foundation from which to embark upon a career as a ninja." Iruka paused a moment to assess the attentiveness of his audience, everyone was keyed in. _"It's the first day but that will change with time,"_ he told himself before continuing.

"The second element of the curriculum is different and it is related to your License. Many of you know that upon acceptance into the Academy program you were given a Trainee Ninja License. This license gives you certain privileges, all of you have been granted the right to attend the Shinobi Seminar Series. Something you should take advantage of to further develop skills. The Academy is in charge of granting privileges to Trainee Ninja. Today I will grant each of you access to the Academy Library for personal development. Your Academy manual has a list of privileges you can test into that will give you the opportunity, on your own time, to develop. For example when you can demonstrate a basic ability to access and direct your Chakra you can be given access to the Academy Technique Library. When you demonstrate sufficient ability with thrown weaponry, you can receive privilege to purchase weapons around the village. The list goes on and on but this system of License Privileges is designed to allow you to pursue your own path to growth as a Shinobi."

The day continued as Iruka gave Naruto's class a tour of the Academy grounds, they visited all the different areas they would be learning various skills and information. Finally, after what seemed like an age, Iruka sent the class home for the day. Naruto immediately made his way to the Chunin to accomplish what had him excited throughout the day.

"Sensei! I have a question." The brown haired Chunin turned to him with a curious smile.

"Of course I do, it's Naruto correct?" The blonde smiled nodding his head.

"Yep, that's me Sensei!"

"How can I help you?" With an ever widening smiled Naruto was having trouble containing his excitement.

"I was wondering if I could test for a couple privileges?" Iruka stopped short, that was definitely not something he was prepared for at the end of the first day. Considering the exuberant boy in front of him, Iruka nodded slowly.

"Sure, which privileges?"

"Chakra and Weapons please," Naruto answered succinctly. Iruka blinked.

"Are you aware of the requirements, we haven't covered any of them yet… obviously."

"Yep I read about them in the manual." Shrugging Iruka sighed, might as well see what the kid could do.

"Okay why not, let's go to the Range." Iruka led the blonde across the grounds to the Weapons Range and opened the armory. "Which weapons did you want to test with?"

"Kunai please," Iruka handed him a pouch with five simple Academy issue Kunai and led Naruto to the targets.

"Alright you need hit the target with all five, in at least one of three attempts." Konoha did not need a bunch of kids running around with Kunai missing targets and hitting civilians by accident. Taking the pouch with confidence Naruto attached it to the sash he wore over his simple navy tunic. Iruka looked on as the blonde stepped to the line about 10 meters from the nearest target. Naruto took a deep breath while he drew the first blade, sighting the target Naruto took a small step forward twisting at the hips his arm whipping across his body with the momentum, **Thunk**. An outer ring but definitely on target, Iruka was surprised more so a moment later. **Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.** Naruto turned grinning at his gaping Sensei. "That was… very well done Naruto," Iruka could hardly believe it. "How did you do that?"

"My friend's dad is a blacksmith and he gave her some Kunai to practice with and she let me practice with her. Plus this weird guy, Genma I think, did a seminar a while ago about Shurikenjutsu… he chewed on senbon!"

"I suppose that makes sense, it's what the seminar series is all about in any case. Good job Naruto, that was a great demonstrated I will add weapon privileges to your license. Now what about Chakra?" Iruka expected the boy to try to manifest some Chakra so he was flabbergasted when the boy began doing three hand seals with surprising proficiency.

"Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage!" Holding the last sign, snake, Naruto slowly sank into the earth until he disappeared completely. Iruka stood alone in utter astonishment for a moment before before him he heard and then saw Naruto rising out of he earth like he was on an elevator.

"How was that Sensei," Naruto said with a shiteating smile plastered on his face. Iruka could barely speak, who was this kid?

"Uhh… yeah approved," with a holler Naruto fist pumped and took off running. Iruka was left in stunned silence, "That is one to watch."

 _"The work of the ninja is, in many ways, an expert and specific application of similar mundane tasks. There is no better example than that of hunting. To be a proficient hunter one needs skill, stealth, and understanding working together to accomplish the task successfully. From a young age Senju children have been taught and encouraged to hunt. Selecting and Locating prey through understanding creature and environment. Stalking prey through that same understanding of the creature and the environment allows the hunter to move unseen and position for the pivotal strike. The Kill must be precise, locating a point of weakness both in space and time. Yes hunting is an activity every ninja should pursue. To take down prey with a ranged weapon is first. Next to do so without detection. The truly skilled may be able to make a kill in close quarters if a hunter's skill to move silently is sufficient. Finally the greatest hunters can approach prey undetected and touch them without the animal being any wiser. Ninja must be master hunters."_

From the moment Naruto had first read that passage from 1000 Sayings, he had been anxious to begin hunting. His first forays had produced little results due to his lack of planning and skill. Now though Naruto waited quietly, still and obscured in brush next to an empty clearing. In his hand he clenched one of his new prized possessions, a sharp Kunai ready to be thrown at the squirrels dashing through the trees above him. His new license privileges had allowed him to purchase a pack of Kunai and a second set of blunted training Kunai. Quietly, ever so quietly, Naruto adjusted his stance as a squirrel near his position paused on a branch. Quick as he was able Naruto whipped his Kunai up toward the squirrel. The small creature darted away his Kunai sailing through the space it had occupied a moment earlier. Naruto tracked the flight of his blade and rushed to retrieve it.

"More practice, I need to be more quiet!" Naruto chastised himself, hunting was going to take some time to master. Naruto was determined though, "Those squirrels looks so tasty, I'm coming for you!"

Later a rather hungry blonde stopped his hunt, yet again unsuccessful, but still determined. The sun was edging toward the horizon but Naruto still wanted to practice the technique he had, only a week previous, first managed to perform. The look on Iruka-sensei's face had been priceless! Naruto "grasped" his Chakra, that was the best way he knew to describe the sensation, and "pushed" into the earth beneath him as he made the familiar hand seals. _"How had the Hokage done this without hand seals?"_ Naruto wondered, but feeling the technique beginning to slip from his control he shook his head and pushed holding the snake sign. As his chakra seeped into the earth beneath him he began to slowly slip down: first his toes disappeared. Next his ankles, knees, and his hips; Naruto could feel his Chakra shifting the dirt around him as he moved underground.

Finally Naruto found himself fully underground, being submerged in the earth was a sensation Naruto was still growing accustomed to. It was dark and quiet, the blonde could feel himself surrounded by Chakra, like a film in the earth surrounding him. Naruto moved his legs in circles under him, and the film of Chakra shifted dirt to accommodate the motion. The technique used Chakra to allow him this motion, almost making the earth a liquid, Naruto's legs moved like it was underwater there was a resistance to his movements. Directing the technique Naruto rose above ground again the sights and sounds of the world above rushing back in. Naruto dropped the snake seal and sat down, around him the clearing in the training ground was churned as if some farmer was preparing to plant all as a result of his practice.

"I can move fine, slowly, but moving is easy." It was true, Naruto couldn't move quickly but moving up, down, forward and so forth was a simple matter of directing the chakra his technique used. "My problem is navigation, I'm blind and can't hear anything. How am I supposed to know where I am going?" Naruto knew from experience that moving blindly he was prone to bumping into roots and rocks. "The Hokage was able to move quickly and get right behind his opponent in that demonstration, how was he able to do that?" After some time thinking the blonde finished his break and got back to it. "I still have a long way to go mastering this technique, like the Senju say, _"One technique mastered is worth a thousand simply known,"_.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - To Be Seen Unseen

a/n - thanks for all the kind early reviews, here is a second chapter faster than I originally planned in return, enjoy!

 _Two Years Later_

Sunshine beat down without mercy upon the Obstacle Course corner of Konoha's Ninja Academy grounds. The early fall had provided little relief for the students of Iruka's Academy class as they were directed one by one to the starting line of the course. There was little conversation amongst the collected nine-year-olds as they pushed into the second hour of the morning's training. Naruto slowly approached the front as students were sent in ten second intervals. Standing directly in front of him was Uchiha Sasuke who was fidgeting in anticipation of his next run.

"I'll bet you 100 that I beat your time on this run Sasuke," Naruto challenged with a grin. Some, pineapple haired, members of their class may hate the Obstacle Course but Naruto loved the competition of it especially when he got to challenge Sasuke at something. The trainee in questioned turned slightly to address the challenge, a smirk growing on his pale face.

"Do you even have 100 Naruto," Sasuke asked? These bets were becoming increasingly common with the blonde who always seemed to by trying to make a buck. Naruto flashed and grin and pulled out a clearly stuffed wallet.

"Of course, no excuses this time Sasuke! Tenten couldn't figure out how I rigged our last accuracy competition and I won a ton from her." Naruto had no clan and lived on his own. Konoha actually provided Academy students an economy studio near the Academy if they had no family, something Naruto eagerly took advantage of. In addition to housing the village also provided a monthly stipend, it wasn't much though if you were a young ninja training hard and constantly needing to replace worn equipment.

"Fine you're on but I'm not losing this time," Sasuke replied a determined set coming to his features. Naruto smiled, Sasuke may be the most skilled student in their year but the Obstacle Course was not a place where skill was everything. Sasuke was soon to the front of the line awaiting Iruka's signal. "See you at the other side if you manage to even finish loser!"

"Go!" Iruka dropped his hand and Sasuke was off like a shot and Naruto filled in behind him at the line. Naruto took a moment to check today's route. The Obstacle Course was actually a large area filled with all kinds of different abandoned buildings and varying terrains. Everyday the course was changed to teach adaptability and capability on a variety of terrains. Naruto loosened his body quickly, an excited smile stretching across his tan face. "Go!"

Naruto took of like a shot, covering 50m of open ground before the course directed him into a house. Naruto opted for a direct route bursting through an open window, he slid under a table and then out through another open window in the back. Finding a rope wall, Naruto kept his pace jumping and leaping of the bottom of the wall with a step before grabbing the rope and pulling himself to the top. The blonde dashed across a series of beams and then sprinted up a flight of stairs two at a time. The stairway brought him to the top of a building that led Naruto to a rope he immediately used to pull himself across to a third building. This led him inside jumping down stairways until he burst through a back door covering the final 100m to the finish line.

At the finish the timers stood with an irritated Sasuke, one look was all it took for Naruto to know his wallet was about to get heavier. Sure enough Naruto had come in seven seconds behind the raven-haired boy. As they moved back to the end of the line at the start Sasuke finally spoke.

"You went through the windows at the start didn't you?" He growled out.

"Yeah way to slow swerving through those doorways," Naruto returned wryly. Sasuke shook his head in frustration, after a moment though his smile returned.

"Double or nothing in Taijutsu later," Sasuke said slyly. It was Naruto's turn to groan, Sasuke was the best in their year at Taijutsu.

"Fine, jerk." Iruka interrupted their friendly rivalry as they prepared to transition.

"Hopefully all of you are following the advice we regularly remind you of, you are what you eat. Each of you need to be diligent in consuming an adequate amount of food, especially nutritious vegetables and meats!" The class responded as one.

"Yes Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto smiled as the group moved towards the classroom, his hard won hunting prowess provided him a constant supply of meats that he had learned to love. In fact he had some, roasted squirrel waiting for him at lunch.

As the day's Academy lessons concluded, Naruto stood waiting outside the Academy grounds bemoaning the state of his lightened wallet. _'Stupid Sasuke with his special clan Taijutsu training. How I am supposed to keep up with the garbage the Academy teaches,'_ Naruto thought irritably. The blonde pulled out one of his kunai to spin idly while he waited. He had known for awhile that the Academy style wasn't going to cut it and Sasuke's continued dominance over him illustrated that in a particularly bruising fashion. _'But it isn't as if there are experienced Taijutsu teachers desperate to take me on as an apprentice. Having a clan would be amazing…'_

"Hey Blondie! You're going to hurt yourself with that thing if you don't keep up!" Naruto stirred out of his reflections and packed away his Kunai with a smile seeing Tenten waiting impatiently for him.

"Yeah yeah, who was waiting for whom Panda Girl?" Both smiled as they took off at a trot toward their normal practice ground. Naruto broke into the clearing ahead of Tenten both of them breaking into a sprint to beat the other in the last few hundred meters. "So what sort of torture do you have cooked up today?" Naruto asked with a laugh. Tenten simply pulled her backpack off her shoulder and grinned impishly.

"I was thinking about having you work on your avoidance, can't have you getting hurt by a projectile on me." Tenten didn't even wait for a response as she slung a trio of Shuriken toward the blonde who dropped to the ground to avoid the spinning stars. Bouncing to his feet, Naruto focused in on the girl opposite him ready for the next wave of metal to fly. Tenten spent a few minutes tossing the stars at him before abruptly a line of senbon sent Naruto flipping backward. The smile grew on Tenten's face as the rhythm continued, her changing projectiles constantly.

Naruto was beginning to tire and he was already bruised from a handful of hits he had taken from the blunted projectiles. Tenten's hand blurred as she flung, was that a boar spear?! Jumping clear Naruto yelped in surprise when a chain came whipping toward him in mid flight and wrapped around his foot yanking him uncomfortably to the ground. The blonde groaned as he recovered his feet.

"What was that?" Tenten smiled holding the weapon she had snared him with aloft. In her hand she held a sickle with a chain connected to the bottom of the wooden handle, there was a weighted end to the chain. "What the heck is that?" Tenten smiled spinning the sickle around by the chain.

"This is a Kusarigama, one of the most versatile weapons around." She smirked drawing the chain back in. Naruto was in awe as the girl performed a series of maneuvers, with some with the sickle, some with the weighted chain, and some with the sickle swinging on the other end of the chain. The more he watched the more Naruto realized that this was the weapon for him, his mind was filling with the possibilities.

"Could you show me how to use it?" Tenten smiled, this is exactly what she hoped for. For years the brunette had been trying to get the Naruto interested in a weapon besides simply throwing Kunai around, the Kusarigama had just been her most recent attempt. Naruto received the offered weapon with an excited energy and Tenten eagerly began to show him the proper ways to hold the sickle and chain. Before long Naruto was taking practice swipes at a nearby training log and swinging the chain with abandon an ever widening smile on his tanned face.

After an hour of Tenten's tutelage Naruto was sure, the Kusarigama kicked ass and it would be the answer to his Taijutsu woes. He really only had one more question. "Tenten do you have another one?"

 _Several Weeks Later_

Naruto slipped hand over hand, foot over foot as silently as he was able moving along a branch. The blonde ninja moved, under his short sleeved charcoal hoodie his eyes remained focused upon a pheasant rooting around in the grass for insects just a short distance from where he crept. Quietly Naruto moved from one tree to the next via intertwined branches until finally he was in the perfect position to strike. He gathered the chain from one of his Kusarigama, the second strapped securely to his back, and readied himself. With a quick whipping movement Naruto launched the weighted head of the chain directly at the wild pheasant. The bird must have picked up on some sound or motion because it leapt away narrowly dodging the weight as it crashed into the ground heavily. Cursing the nine-year-old grabbed a kunai from his hip pouch and tagged the pheasant as it took to wing downing it immediately with practiced ease.

"Damn it! Chain-chan you are awesome but it is so hard to use you quietly!" Naruto dropped to the ground in a quiet crouch quickly gathering his chain around his right forearm that was covered with a thick leather bracer. "But at least I got you! I love pheasant and I even found some wild onion tonight to fry you with!" Naruto pocketed his kunai and slung the dead pheasant over his shoulder making his way back to his temporary hunting camp for the weekend.

Entering his campsite Naruto set to work processing the pheasant. Laying the bird out on a flattened log he defeathered and gutted the bird setting the rest to cooking over his fire. _Caw!_ a large crow settled down on the log staring at him with dark eyes. Shrugging Naruto tossed the guts to the bird, who gobbled them up eagerly as the blonde returned to his cooking. The ninja trainee really loved hunting and being outside and since he didn't have much happening on weekends when the Academy was off he had begun camping out. It was a great way to develop his hunting and tracking skills, as well as other primitive skills all of which are essential for a ninja. The small clearing he was camping in was well disguised by undergrowth, and Naruto had managed to dig himself a nice shelter under a fallen log. The blonde had discovered he tended to leave the ground soft and tilled when he used his subterranean voyage technique. This side effect made digging a shelter, fire pit, and latrine easy.

"It's a liability in battle though if everyone can tell exactly where I have been, something else to work on and I still don't know how to navigate with all my senses shut off underground." Naruto's frustrations with his lack of progress quickly subsided as he began to carve into his hot supper. Then sun dipped past the horizon as Naruto patted his full stomach enjoying the feel of his hearty meal.

Twilight fell, and with the dying light the forest came to life. It was a sensation that Naruto had grown to love. The sounds of life, animals and insects mixed with the sights and smells. Enjoying the evening Naruto pulled a well worn book from his pack. _"1000 Sayings of the Senju"_ , the title read. Naruto didn't necessarily love reading, this was all he had of his honorary clan. Every time he read it he felt as though he had an actual clan guiding him to grow into the Ninja he wanted desperately to become. Opening the book to his most recent mark he found himself in the chapter concerning tactics.

 _"To be underestimated is one of the greatest advantages a Shinobi can be granted. A Ninja should determine how others view him or her rather than entrusting that to others. Show your weakness to be a strength, conceal true talents, project the image that will give you the greatest advantage. The unseen blade strikes thrice."_ Naruto stopped there for the night to ponder the concept. So far it was not advice he had put into practice, in fact if anything he had been doing the exact opposite.

"Every time I am good at something I show it off to everyone at my first opportunity. Like with Subterranean Voyage, I showed Iruka my technique two years ago and now he thinks I am some kind of genius and I still haven't mastered it! He overestimates my skill. If he were an enemy that would be really bad." Naruto laid back quietly into his shelter putting away his camp for the night and stoking the fire. How did he want others to view him? As the trainee slipped off to sleep his mind was full with these thoughts and he was sure of one thing, he wanted to keep any advancements with his ninjutsu secret from now on.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Uchiha Clan Compound_

Walls, white washed to the color of bleached bone, surrounded the entire Uchiha compound seeming both ornate and menacing all at once. As Naruto followed Sasuke into the depths of the compound he could not help but feel like an interloper. The ten-year-old had to stick his hands into his pockets to keep from reflexively pulling his charcoal hood over the blonde hair he was almost painfully aware of.

"Does your entire clan have black hair Sasuke?" Naruto asked completely interrupting the impromptu tour the his classmate had been providing. Sasuke looked over at him with a frown, clearly irked by the lack of attention.

"What are you blathering about Naruto?" Shaking his head at his distractible companion Sasuke continued to point out some of the highlights of the Uchiha Compound before they arrived at their destination. "This is my family's training area," the ebony haired youth waved at the open packed earth area before them. Naruto was more than impressed, Sasuke's family had a private training area inside a private clan compound, talk about having a ryo to spare!

"This is your family's? That's pretty amazing! I wish my clan had something like this I could use." Sasuke gave Naruto a weird look as he shrugged slightly self-consciously, it was easy to forget that his friend was an orphan and didn't have the lifestyle he was used to.

"Anyway let's get training! I'm working on something that is going to blow you away, literally!" Sasuke had grabbed Naruto at the end of Academy and insisted that he come back to his house to train and see this ninjutsu the Uchiha had been working on.

"Alright let's see this ninjutsu you have been talking up," Naruto, in spite of his awe regarding the wealth that surrounded him was still a ninjutsu nerd at heart. Sasuke smirked and crossed to one side of the training area, opposite a vulnerable looking log. With slow but precise hand seals he braced himself the final seal held beneath his lips.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Taking a deep breath Sasuke exhaled a basketball sized ball of flame that raced across the open space erupting against a log that immediately succumbed to the fire. Naruto was impressed, it was by far the most impressive ninjutsu he had witnessed from anyone their age. Sasuke turned, an even bigger smirk on his face then before. "How about that!?"

"That was awesome, where did you learn that?"

"From my brother, Itachi, that technique is sort of a coming of age ritual for our clan," Sasuke answered just a bit oddly if Naruto was being honest, the black haired youth had taken on an odd tone when talking about his brother. "Pretty kickass right?" And just like that the Uchiha arrogance was back. Naruto could only smile, launching an explosive fireball was definitely worthy of praise.

"That was really cool, I don't think there is anyone else our age who can pull off a ninjutsu that impressive!" Sasuke scowled.

"Are you kidding, there isn't anyone our age that can do ANY ninjutsu," he claimed full of bold arrogance. Naruto took a moment to glance around, there was no one around and they were in the middle of a private training area. The blonde had decided his Earth technique would be his secret from here on out, but if it was just Sasuke then that would be okay. With the coast seeming clear, Naruto smirked at Sasuke and made a single hand seal and immediately sunk into the ground leaving barely a scuff in the dirt to mark where he had disappeared. Sasuke for his part shifted from boastful to shock in an instant as his friend who he knew could not perform any ninjutsu did just that. A moment later Naruto emerged a few feet to Sasuke's right a serene smile on his face.

"Hmm, I was supposed to pop up behind you, still can't get the hang of blind navigation." Sasuke jaw worked silently trying to comprehend what he just saw as Naruto continued to mutter to himself about his technique. The Uchiha couldn't believe it, that blonde trickster. He had only used one hand seal which meant he was very familiar with the technique, he had also performed it silently. Hand seals were a device to assist in the formation of physical energy while the incantation assisted the spiritual energy, a practitioner needed to have a deep understanding of a technique to perform it with just one seal.

"How long have you been able to do that? You jerk! I just learned the Great Fireball last weekend!" Naruto smirked.

"Don't assume you're the best all the time Sasuke, finding out you assumed wrongly can hurt," the blonde attempted to say sagely but mostly it came out as a load of shit, something the Uchiha was quick to inform him of. After a moment of bickering the two trainees were interrupted by a quiet voice.

"That was a most impressive demonstration, by both of you." Turning Naruto found an older clone of Sasuke standing behind them observing. _'I have no idea when he got here, was he here all along?'_. Sasuke schooled his features and bowed to his older clone.

"Greetings Itachi-sama we were just practicing," Naruto awkwardly copied Sasuke's bow but stayed silent.

"Ah Sasuke-kun I may be clan head now but you can still call me brother," he said kindly. Turning to Naruto he nodded his head in greeting, "Welcome to the Uchiha Clan Compound."

"This is Naruto a fellow trainee at the Academy, we were just showing one another our ninjutsu." Sasuke introduced. Naruto stood silently not really sure how to address the head of the Uchiha Clan especially with the weird way Sasuke was acting. Itachi stood silent for a moment, assessing the two ten-year-olds.

"I believe you said you were having trouble navigating while you use Subterranean Voyage, is that true," Itachi asked Naruto?

"Yes it has been really frustrating I am pretty good at memorizing where things are before I go under but if something moves then I can't find it," he trailed off realizing that he was rambling in front of Itachi. "Uh, yes… Uchiha-San." Itachi again smiled kindly and took a moment to consider the boys.

"I will make a deal with you Naruto. If I help you understand how to navigate using your technique, will you teach Subterranean Voyage to Sasuke when he comes to a similar master with his Great Fireball Technique?" Naruto was struck by the sudden offer of help. He didn't really want to share his only technique with Sasuke… but if Itachi could teach him what he was missing it might be worth it.

"Deal!"

"Very well, go back underground and while you are down there do not try to see or hear anything. Focus on what you feel only come to the surface when you have isolated that sense of feel." Naruto looked confused for a moment but shrugged, Itachi was apparently some kind of badass to be the Uchiha clan head so why not. Putting his hands into the snake seal Naruto pushed his Chakra into the earth and quietly slipped beneath the ground.

Being underground was a unique experience as always for the young blonde. Naruto's Chakra inundated the earth around him, with a simple push in any direction Naruto could control his movement. The blonde had recently discovered that if he was careful with how he pushed he could affect where the earth was shifted while he moved, this had allowed him to eliminate the surface affect of his technique. Naruto was again aware but in the strange handicapped way he always was underground; no sight, almost no sound, and an overpowering earthy scent. Itachi had said to focus on what he felt which was nothing? Naruto went still and closed his eyes and attempted to focus.

 _'What do I feel? Nothing! Dirt obviously but…'_ Naruto quieted his thoughts, he had been working on this for almost three years and he would master it. As his breathing slowed and his thoughts drifted Naruto searched his feelings (A/N: Star Wars =P). Distantly Naruto began to sense… something? _'What is that?'_ There was almost a drumming not something he was hearing per se, the way it feels when you are near a drum beating but very distant. _'I feel that drumming or pounding, what is that? Is that what Itachi wanted me to feel?'_ Focusing on the sensation Naruto was able to tell the direction it was coming from and twisted to face it. Deciding that he had "felt" something, thought not sure what, Naruto ascended breaking the surface quickly and found himself facing the Uchiha brothers who were busy… jumping?

"What was that? What are you doing?" Naruto asked, bewildered. Sasuke stopped immediately embarrassed while Itachi maintained his serene expression.

"We were jumping up and down, what did you feel?" Itachi asked.

"It was like a distant drumming," Naruto trailed off. _'Was that?'_ Suddenly it clicked. "I felt you jumping," he exclaimed excitedly.

"Indeed, what you felt was primarily the vibration through the earth caused by our movement. When your Chakra is saturating the earth you become more attuned to the vibrations that result from movement."

"So I can feel vibrations and locate movement to navigate?"

"With practice you can become increasingly attuned to those sensations," Itachi explained. Naruto smiled, if there was one thing he was good at it was practice and these vibrations were a game changer for him.

 _Konoha Ninja Academy -_

The crowd of fourth year Academy Trainees milled about before one of the many abandoned buildings that dotted the Academy grounds. Naruto stood near the back with Kiba as their class waited for Iruka who had instructed them to sit tight. Kiba and Naruto had developed a friendly rivalry as the two most physically fit members of their class, both boys pushed each other in training to for feats of endurance, strength, and speed. Mostly though Naruto liked Akamaru.

"I'm just learning how to understand what Akamaru is saying, my mom and sister says it can take awhile to pick up because the Ninken have to be understood on multiple levels." Kiba was explaining to the attentive blonde, Naruto had discovered he could learn a lot by just asking questions and then listening. This tactic was proving especially true with the clan ninja trainees he took classes with, it was fascinating how many unique ideas he was learning from the clan kids by listening to how they were training.

"What does that mean, multiple levels?" Naruto interrupted.

"Well it's sort of hard to understand, a ninken like Akamaru need a lot of exposure to a bonded ninja before he will pick up our language. Even though he hasn't progressed to that level yet he is still communicating, but using different ways together. Akamaru communicates with sounds like barking but also he uses all kinds of different body language, posture, facial features, tail and even how his hair and ears move." Naruto was impressed, Kiba wasn't a scholar but apparently the Inuzuka were serious about educating their clan in all matters concerning their partners.

"So what is this bond?" Kiba looked immediately awkward clearly hesitant to share any clan secrets. "Kiba don't worry man! I'm not only a fellow ninja of the leaf, I am also never going to have a ninken. It's not like I am from a rival clan or something, I'm an orphan." Kiba calmed and looked slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah that's true, sorry Naruto. Look all I really know is that one of my ancestors formed an alliance with the Dog Clan. Since that alliance was formed my clan and theirs have shared the bond." Now that was interesting information in a couple ways.

"There are animal clans like us?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Of course! I don't really understand it but, there is a separate land connected to ours but its location is a mystery, we call it the beast lands. There different animal clans are masters of different areas." Kiba was cut off by Iruka's return to the class.

"Quiet down! Listen closely to what I have to say I am giving you a trainee mission. You will be graded on your performance of the mission so do your best." The class stilled, this year missions had been added to the curriculum and they were always extremely challenging. Naruto loved the missions it was a whole new form of challenging himself. "Behind me you see a building, for this mission we are calling it a bank. The mission is to infiltrate the building by the end of the Academy session tomorrow. Somewhere inside you will find a banner with your name and a symbol on it, only by presenting me with your banner will you be awarded any points. There will be a team of guards from the upper class men who have been assigned to guard the tower are required to begin at the start of the Academy session tomorrow. Be Shinobi and do your best!" With that Iruka dismissed them for the day and Naruto's class excitedly filtered away talking about the new mission.

Naruto smirked, _'Be Shinobi, hmm? No guards until tomorrow? As the Senju say, "Darkness is to be an ally to every Shinobi."'_ Naruto quickly made his way back to the forest he had some hunting to do, he was going to feast for supper because he had plans for tonight.

 _Several Hours Later -_

"Man I love barbecue snake," Naruto rubbed his belly with pleasure and rechecked his gear. He had his standard charcoal colored short sleeve hoodie on along with some dark navy training pants and his gear pouch strapped to his hip. "All set." The blonde was pretty sure he had this missions underlying test figured out and it matched perfectly with the image he had carefully chosen to present to the village at large. He wanted the village to publicly see him as a skilled operator and as a powerful hand to hand combatant with his kusarigama. By kicking this mission's proverbial ass he could put himself on the map in the first category. "I still need to take care of a couple things with my kusarigama before I bring them to the Academy, but that's for later."

The night air was crisp as Naruto made the short journey toward the Academy grounds, the village was quiet this late on a cloudy night. _'Perfect for me,'._ Slipping quietly over the exterior wall of the Academy Naruto silently made his approach on the "bank". Scaling a tree with his blonde hair hidden under his hood Naruto surveyed his target building. The trainee was pretty certain, based on Iruka's explanation, that it would be empty but best to be sure. The Senju did say, " _Measure twice, cut once,_ ". At least Naruto was pretty sure the Senju said that, and reasonably sure that the concept should be applied here.

After twenty minutes of his silent vigil with no detectable movement, Naruto finally made his stealthy approach and began to search the building. The shadowy blonde was quickly reminded how sadistic his teachers could be as he began his search. The banners were not sitting out in the open, no they were in drawers and in hidden compartments scattered throughout the building. After an hour of frustration that Naruto found a banner that gave him a devious idea. In his hands was a banner that read "Sasuke", _'Oh this will curb the arrogance of that raven haired bastard,'._ Sasuke may have been his friend but they were still rivals, so he swiped the Uchiha's banner and began his search for the banners of his entire class laughing silently all the while.

Naruto discovered his own banner near the end of his devilish prank, and just as he was moving toward the last hallway in the building to complete his search he heard movement. _'Shit,'_. Immediately the blonde secreted himself away, peeking down the hallway toward the source of the disturbance. After a minute a figure appeared in shadow moving room to room in his direction. Just as Naruto was preparing to abandon his prank, his own banner already located, he noticed the shifting shadow had a familiar silhouette; a pineapple head. With a grin, Naruto stalked forward and as the figure left the room it had been searching he grabbed it roughly.

"Wha…!" Came the startled cry, stifled by Naruto's calloused hand.

"Hi Shikamaru!" Naruto whispered brightly, very pleased with the reaction he had elicited. "I'm surprised, I know you are smart but I thought you would be to lazy for this course." Shikamaru shrugged as Naruto removed his hand.

"Troublesome… I thought I could finish this easy tonight and then find a good place to nap during the session tomorrow." Well wasn't the scion of the Nara clan full of surprises! Naruto smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Sorry for scaring you, you freaked me out I thought one of the older students got smart about this mission. How about I give you a present to apologize for scaring you." Naruto pulled out his bundle of banners, smirking at Shikamaru's dawning realization, and handed him his banner.

"You are one troublesome bastard Naruto, do you have Choji's banner? I was going to get his… he is my friend, and… troublesome." He trailed off as Naruto handed him Choji's with a shrug.

"Have a goodnight Shikamaru, and lets keep this a secret alright, don't want to ruin the surprise." With that the two trainees parted ways, one to his nefarious ends and the other to his comfortable bed.

The frustration in the air was palpable as the day's Academy session ended, Naruto simply soaked it in. The fourth year trainees were gathered in a half circle muttering to one another as Iruka lead the seventh year trainees from the "bank". Calling the assembly to attention Iruka addressed them with a carefully schooled expression, Naruto thought he detected a smirk underneath the teacher's mask.

"Today's Academy session is officially ended and therefore so are your respective missions," Iruka beckoned to the fourth and seventh year students in turn. "How do you think you did?" His question was met with bluster by the older trainees and frustrated irritation by the younger. Naruto took all of this in with growing glee as he struggled to keep an enormous smirk from showing up on his face. Iruka began with the older students.

"I see our seventh year trainees seem quite satisfied." The group gave a few hollers of approval before Iruka silenced them. "Your reaction confuses me as you were unable to safeguard even a single banner." This brought the whole assembly to a shocked silence, confusion on nearly every face. Iruka did allow a small smirk to play across his scarred visage. "Yes despite each of you meeting your required guard times all of the banners have been stolen. Would those of the fourth years who managed to obtain their banners step forward." There was a ripple of anticipation amongst the crowd of trainees, Naruto took a step forward pulling his banner out proudly, next to him Shikamaru and a confused Choji stepped forward.

"Well done Naruto and Shikamaru for seeing a hidden layer to this mission, and to Choji for having such a valuable relationship." Shikamaru just yawned, his nap having been interrupted, while Choji smiled at his friend. Naruto on the other hand just waited for the other shoe to drop. "Seventh years what element of this mission did you miss?" After a moment's contemplation a mousey member of the Hyuuga clan spoke up.

"We were only required to guard the bank during today's session but you began the mission yesterday, we left the bank unguarded all night." There were groans amongst many of the assembly as the truth of her deduction hit them.

"Indeed Yui, you will often find that the mission parameters outlined by our village's clientele do not always cover ever angle of a given objective. It is essential for your success as a ninja to understand what is necessary to accomplish a mission even, and perhaps especially, if your client has not considered some element of said mission." There were nods all around as the trainees absorbed the Chunin's instruction. "One of our number reminded me of this fact anew during this mission. I had not considered every part of the mission and one of your number took advantage in a way I did not anticipate." Iruka gave an embarrassed laugh and then beckoned to Naruto. "If you would." Naruto's smirk shined like the sun as he pulled a bundle of banners from his pouch and passed them to his Sensei. Around him students of every age offered him their fiercest application of killing intent, which pleased the blonde trainee immensely.

"Naruto you bastard," called Kiba.

"Don't be so cocky," yelled an older trainee. There was a moment of frustrated anger, before Iruka stepped in with a glare.

"Enough! Naruto is to be commended, both by his instructors and his fellow trainees. We are ninja, it is our call to see "Underneath the Underneath". Rather than anger let Naruto's cunning spur each of you to greater heights, that is how you can continue to develop into great ninja!" Iruka dismissed the group several of Naruto's classmates coming to promise retribution.

"I'll see you in the Taijutsu ring tomorrow you dick," Sasuke growled as he stalked home. It all washed over Naruto pleasantly, this is exactly what he had hoped for a chance to prove himself. Iruka touched his shoulder to get the blonde's attention.

"Excellent work Naruto, you may not have made many friends but you have shown all of us what being a ninja is really about. For out thinking me in this exercise I will teach you a ninjutsu technique, during our next Academy break."

"Thanks Iruka-Sensei!" An unexpected but welcome reward that had Naruto dreaming of the possibilities.

 _Several Weeks Later -_

Day turn to dusk over the village of Konoha Naruto stood in the evening cool breathing heavy but steady. With one foot before the other in a tight warrior stance Naruto stood holding a kusarigama in each hand. The weapons were simple, a stout wooden handle, one end with a steel sickle, the other a steel loop. Each loop had a chain connected to it that wrapped around leather bracers. In his stance Naruto kept both kusarigama upright, one before him and the other behind. The blonde had been working for a couple years now to develop a simple style for using his weapon of choice and it had been serious work.

Stepping forward Naruto swung with a hooking slice low with his lead blade. Then following the momentum of his first movement he swung his second sickle through his center guard in a block, and continued the spin around with a second piercing strike with his first sickle. Naruto stepped back and took a breath before resuming his stance. This time he allowed his rear sickle to hang on a short length of chain and began to slowly spin it. With a twisting step the sickle flew toward a nearby training log, Naruto deftly twisted his body slicing the log deeply and drawing the projectile back to himself as he rushed forward. The trainee finished his rush by catching the flying sickle and spinning with its momentum striking the log twice more, high and low, with his kusarigamas.

Naruto again rested a moment assessing the effectiveness of his combos, he had managed cuts that bit several inches deep on the log, certainly not a complete bisection. _'Still it's progress,'._ As the blonde prepared for another combo he heard a bird's grating cry and a familiar whistle in the air, quickly he twisted away from his position loosing both of his chains, one he twisted knocking a shuriken away from his body. The second chain Naruto threw, weight first, in the direction the attack had come from. Tenten gave a cry of alarm and rolled away just as the weighted chain crashed through the branch she had been perched on.

"Hey what are you trying to do, crush me?" She demanded fiercely. Naruto gave a shrug drawing his weapons back around his leather bracers.

"What are you trying to do cut me?" He parroted back with a smirk. Tenten managed to look abashed for a moment before smiling confidently.

"You're getting pretty good with those Naruto, are you finally ready to spar?" The blonde trainee sighed at the familiar question.

"I already told you Tenten, I don't want to spar with these," he held his kusarigamas aloft. "I could really hurt you, they aren't blunted training weapons." With a knowing smile Tenten presented him with her bag. "What's this?" Naruto asked curiously. Tenten ceremoniously revealed, another pair of kusarigama.

"My dad got tired of me complaining about you, so he made these," Tenten handed Naruto the weapons which Naruto took with awe. The sickles were made entirely of a heavy sturdy feeling wood, Naruto took several practice swings discovering that the weapons felt like the real thing. "They are weighted accurately," Tenten answered his questioning look. Connected to the bottom of each weapon was a thick heavy feeling rope with a sandbag at the end. Naruto took a few minutes of astonished practice swings and combos, before bowing to Tenten.

"These are incredible Tenten, I don't deserve such kindness," the dark haired girl blushed at the effusive gratitude.

"Alright enough, you're welcome, my dad made them anyway. His message to you is 'Make sure you give my little girl good spars to help her grow so she keeps coming home once she becomes a ninja', and before you ask yes that is what he made me say." If anything the poor girl was more embarrassed which finally brought Naruto to laughter.

"Okay sorry, let's spar," the blonde yelped, dodging the shuriken Tenten threw at him for laughing. The two squared off across the clearing from one another and with an opening flurry of projectiles from Tenten the battle was on.

 **a/n - Hope you enjoy the new chapter, I'm trying to update once a week (on Tuesdays). As you may have noticed this world is slightly different from Canon (Itachi?!) so hopefully there are some questions and mystery's to be answered.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Konoha's Ninja Academy_

Naruto arrived early at the Academy and made his way directly to Iruka's office. The grounds were relatively empty at the early hour and Konoha was just barely stirring into motion for the day. With a knock Naruto was called inside by his immediately curious Sensei.

"Naruto, good morning what brings you in so early?" Iruka motioned for Naruto to sit in the chair that stood opposite his desk.

"I hoped to show these to you," Naruto pulled his training kusarigama off of his back and placed them carefully on his teacher's desk before taking his seat.

"These are kusarigama?" He asked rhetorically picking one up to examine. The scarred Chunin looked the weapon over critically and gave a few small swings as Naruto quietly looked on. After a minute Iruka finally finished his examination of the weapons and turned his gaze back to Naruto. "Why do you bring these to me?"

"I have been training with the kusarigama since I was nine and would like to put that skill to use during our Taijutsu training sessions."

"Since you were nine? You're eleven, why wait so long?" Iruka asked clearly puzzled.

"I wanted to be proficient in their use before I brought them to the Academy. Also I was only recently given these training kusarigamas." Iruka spent a moment longer in quiet contemplation, this Naruto was easily one of his most intriguing students. Glancing between the blonde and his weapons Iruka finally came to a decision.

"It is not unheard of for a trainee to employ a practice weapon in the Taijutsu curriculum. Historically that has been in the form of a tanto or katana, I even recall a case of one student bringing nunchucks," Iruka trailed off from memories of that destructive account. "I grant you permission to use these during all relevant exercises here during your training. I am interested to see how they augment your performance, you are already one of the top in your year in Taijutsu… Does this have anything to do with your lack of success against Sasuke?" The Chunin asked slyly. Naruto coughed a little embarrassed by how that particular element of their rivalry had gone to this point.

"Thank you Iruka-Sensei I'm sure that Sasuke will appreciate the added challenge in many painful… I mean meaningful ways." Naruto smirked and Iruka dismissed him with a laugh.

—

Uchiha Sasuke was sure of many things as he entered the Academy grounds near the close of his fourth year of training. He was sure that he was the most talented trainee in the Academy of any year. He was sure that he would kick Naruto's ass during Taijutsu spars. He was also sure that fangirls were in some way related to zombies. These thoughts ran through his head as he was cutting expertly, certainly not avoiding, through a building on the grounds while a pack of the walking mind dead fangirls tracked him relentless.

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Look how handsome he is!"

"Did you see the way his hair is so artfully coiffed?!"

"Quiet bitch I saw him first!" The din of argument rose and then fell as Sasuke increased the speed of his expert maneuver through the building… maybe he was avoiding them. The ebony haired eleven year old sped to their home room anxious for the start of the training day when the Chunin instructors had no patience for the variety of fangirl antics that ensued around him after hours.

As always, Sasuke's timing was impeccable as he slipped into a seat near Hinata just as Iruka stepped to the dais to begin their day.

"Good morning Uchiha-San," Hinata whispered politely. For reasons that he couldn't fathom, Hinata was the only girl in their year that didn't lose her mind when he was nearby and so he used her to shield him from the fangirls.

"Good morning Hyuuga-San," he returned absently, before Iruka called their attention to the front.

"Good Morning Trainees! So glad you could join me for another thrilling day, especially on a day like this with so much potential excitement!" The collected faces brightened, excitement was always welcome. "I see you are interested, well so am I this morning we are beginning with open Taijutsu matches!" Murmuring broke out at this announcement, open matches meant that trainees were allowed to pick their own opponents. Sasuke shuddered, this was the worst now a bunch of crazed fangirls would use this exercise as an excuse to try to rub up against him. Not a moment into his shuddering and the excited clamor of the classroom a voice called out loudly claiming everyone's attention.

"I challenge Uchiha Sasuke!" The voice was deeper than Sasuke had expected and closer. Turning Sasuke discovered directly behind him a familiar grinning figure, Naruto.

"Challenge made, how do you respond?" Iruka interjected with… was that a smirk? Sasuke took barely a moment to consider, before his response.

"Accepted and it's your funeral Blondie." The class quickly made their way to the sparring circles, simple packed earth circles delineated by chalk lines. All the while Sasuke contemplated his challenger. Naruto was easily his best friend and also happened to be his biggest rival in the Academy. Sasuke was near or at the top in every category and while Naruto did not have the all around marks that Sasuke did, the blond was better in a couple key categories. In fitness both Kiba and then Naruto ranked higher than him, but most notably Naruto was by far the best in the class at Missions. In fact if what Sasuke had overheard from instructor's conversations was true than Naruto might be the best in the whole Academy at Missions. That rankled him, especially the memory of the banner debacle. It was for this reason that Sasuke took pride in his domination of Naruto in the Taijutsu circle. The blonde was quite good and one of the more challenging opponents, but Sasuke held nothing back.

Finally Sasuke stood opposite Naruto in the sparring circle, it was there he took note of a critical difference. In his hands Naruto held two wooden kusarigama, ropes connected to the training weapons wound around leather bracers the blonde wore.

"Are those kusarigamas?" Sasuke asked unnecessarily at the unexpected development. "When did you get those?"

"Just something I have been working on here and there," Naruto said casually. Too casually if Sasuke were any judge.

"Can we even use weapons like that in spars here?" Sasuke directed toward Iruka. The scarred Chunin smiled knowingly.

"Training weapons such as these," he gestured in Naruto's direction. "Are allowed on an individual basis subject to instructor approval. Approval I granted to young Naruto here just this morning."

"Everything's legit Sasuke, you ready to go?" Naruto said with a palpable anticipation that gave Sasuke a moment's hesitation. Iruka seeing their readiness stepped between them with a hand upheld.

"Begin!" The Chunin shouted with a downward swipe.

Immediately Naruto took the initiative charging forward with both sickles held ready. Sasuke moved laterally trying to give himself an advantageous angle, when Naruto lashed out with his nearest sickle bruising Sasuke's shoulder with the tip of the wooden blade. Immediately Sasuke realized his mistake, with the weapons Naruto's reach had increased dramatically and Sasuke retreated quickly.

"Point to Naruto," Iruka judged. Sasuke cringed had the blonde been using a real weapon he would be grievously wounded and unable to use one of his arms. Gaining some distance Sasuke decided he would have to go on the offensive. Speeding in Sasuke feinted left before kicking in low to the right trying to sweep Naruto's feet. The crafty blonde leapt back avoiding the sweep and again used his extended reach to nail Sasuke in his other shoulder with painful force. "Point to Naruto."

Sasuke was growing frustrated, Naruto was like a totally different opponent with the additional reach those sickles granted him. The two trainees stood opposite one another assessing and Sasuke knew he had to wipe that grin off Naruto's face. Sasuke took up the charge again, being down in the spar meant he needed to be the aggressor. For several minutes all was motion as Sasuke had adjusted his technique to account for the reach of the blonde's weapons but frustratingly that adjustment also worked to keep him outside of effective range. Sasuke, in a moment of inspiration, stepped toward Naruto quickly causing the blonde to swipe at him. It had been a feint Sasuke pausing his forward movement a hair from the blonde's swipe. Knowing he had him Sasuke pushed powerfully off his back leg propelling himself in an instant, fist first, toward Naruto's face. His only warning was a knowing smirk that flashed across Naruto's face and the next instant Sasuke was flying to the ground landing with bruising force on his back all wind leaving him. As stars floated in his vision Sasuke was stunned by that final maneuver. Naruto had allowed a loop of rope to sail behind his swing and as Sasuke had moved to strike him captured his arm and then twisted levering Sasuke over his shoulder the combined momentum of both trainees sending Sasuke flying.

"Nice fight Sasuke," Naruto said and hearing his gloating tone Sasuke realized that maybe fangirls weren't the worst things about Academy.

 _Several Weeks Later_

Approximately ten heart beats after dismissing his fourth years for their year end break Iruka found himself accosted by an exuberant Naruto. The trainee had immediately reminded Iruka of the promise he had made earlier in the year after Naruto's most infamous Mission performance. Beckoning the blonde to follow Iruka led him back to his office.

"Do not worry Naruto, I haven't forgotten our deal."

"Awesome! So what technique are you going to teach me? Fire Style: Flaming Badass Missiles?" Naruto imitated the… "technique". Iruka just stared as the youth continued to come up with continually unlikely techniques, eventually the tirade ceased and the boy had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry Iruka-Sensei."

"All is well Naruto I commend your… imagination. Now I will begin your instruction tomorrow morning at our usual starting time down by the sparring circles." Naruto began to protest but Iruka held up a hand to forestall him. "I need to close out the final grade assessments for the year this afternoon before we begin our training."

"Okay Sensei," sighed the resigned trainee.

"I will see you in the morning Naruto."

Though the night had seemed to drag on forever eventually dawn had come, and Naruto practiced some real discipline eating a good breakfast of leftover pheasant and wild greens before rushing to meet Iruka. Naruto felt a thrill run through him as he spied the familiar scarred Chunin awaiting him. _'I've never had someone personally teach me ninjutsu… or really anything before,'_ Naruto doubled his speed with gusto to meet Iruka.

"Good morning Naruto, I see you are here just as early as I anticipated," he said with a chuckle.

"What awesome ninjutsu are you going to teach me Iruka?!" The Chunin calmed the energetic trainee down.

"First I want you to answer a question." Naruto was disappointed by the delay but nodded his agreement nonetheless. "Why haven't you used Subterranean Voyage during your time at the Academy? I know you have been capable of using the technique since before your time here even began…" Iruka trailed off, clearly put off by a puzzle he had been unable to solve. The unexpected question caught Naruto off guard. ' _I suppose it was to much to hope that Iruka-Sensei would forget that I can use ninjutsu. Since he knows already there is no sense in keeping him totally in the dark, he is a good guy,'_.

"Well have you ever heard the saying, _'Tell others the story you want them to hear, this is the Shinobi way,'_?" At Iruka's surprised nod the blonde continued. "I decided that I wanted to keep my ninjutsu as secret as possible. To maintain the surprise until I really need it. So I decided that I wanted my story to be that of a competent operator and I skilled kusarigama wielder, since I can't really hide them anyway." Iruka was stunned once more by his most surprising and enigmatic student, he had always understood that Naruto had a good head on his shoulders, but this was… a different level.

"Do you read _1000 Sayings_ often Naruto?"

"Everyday since I was seven." Naruto shrugged pulling his worn copy out of his equipment belt. The trainee basically always had the book with him. "I don't have a clan to teach me anything… but Tobirama-Sensei wrote this book to every ninja of this village. He called every member our village an honorary part of his clan, so I have dedicated myself to understanding the teaching of my clan. I know there is no one with the name Senju in the village but we really the whole village is Senju! People don't really seem to think about it but my dream is to remind our village that we are all part of the same clan." Naruto held the book with a near reverence as he finished his impassioned speech his mind awhirl as he absorbed fully what he had said. _'I do have a clan, the Senju and Konoha,'_.

Meanwhile Iruka felt like he was seeing his young charge for the first time. Never before had he seen Naruto, nor anyone for that matter, so passionate about the ideas Senju Tobirama had penned in his most prolific book. Here before him was an orphan of Konoha, just like Iruka himself, taking to heart those words. That every member of Konoha is an honorary member of the Senju Clan. Looking a moment longer upon Naruto Iruka was certain that he would be someone great. _'I better teach him what I can before he surpasses me!'_

"Naruto I hope you fulfill that dream and since we are part of the same clan let's get to training," Iruka announced bringing Naruto back to his original place of youthful exuberance.

"YAY!"

"Because I know that you have a familiarity with Earth Style I have decided to teach you Earth Style: Stalwart Wall." Naruto was shocked into silence, in the last four years he had become fascinated with Earth Ninjutsu as he had grown more and more proficient with Subterranean Voyage. Now he was going to have personal tutelage in a new Earth Technique! Iruka seeing he had the trainees rapt attention began with a demonstration. Four quick hand seals later and then he slammed both hands into the ground. "Earth Style: Stalwart Wall!"

A square of earth, 3 meters in each direction and nearly a meter think rose from the ground like a trap door was rising out of the earth. Naruto looked on with awe at what Iruka had created, he **really** wanted to do that.

"Earth Style: Stalwart Wall is a clearly similar to the technique that you know but with one significant difference. With Subterranean Voyage you are moving the earth around you to travel underground. With this technique you must shape the earth and then move it into your desired position." Naruto was nodding along eagerly. "As you likely know when you use Subterranean Voyage you are pushing your Chakra into the ground saturating it which is what allows you to move the earth around. With Stalwart Wall you still need to saturate the ground but with more control, by creating a wall with Chakra I give the earth shape. Your chakra becomes a mold for the earth and then by "pushing" like you do with your technique you can move the shape you have created." Naruto's mind was racing as Iruka described the technique to him, to be able to shape the earth before moving it! This was awesome!

"Can I try it?" Iruka showed him the hand seals several more times before giving the blonde his approval.

"Earth Style: Stalwart Wall!" Slamming his hands into the ground Naruto closed his eyes and _pushed._ He could feel his Chakra saturating the earth and extended the saturation before him trying to form his chakra into a wall. After several minutes he opened his eyes and stood. "Wow, making a shape with my Chakra is pretty hard!" Iruka nodded.

"Indeed it is a new concept for you, how have your Chakra control exercises been going?" The blonde shrugged.

"I have leaf sticking and tree climbing down pretty well, I guess I don't practice them all that often."

"You are probably going to need to do more work on control then, try to increase the number of leaves you can stick and really work on tree climbing. Stalwart Wall is a D-rank but it is still more difficult than Subterranean Voyage. As Ninjutsu Techniques get more difficult they often require more Chakra or more Control, often times both. By continually practicing ninjutsu since you were seven I would guess your reserves are well developed for your age but that means you need to redouble your efforts to control that Chakra."

For the next hour Naruto continually attempted the technique again and again, straining to shape a wall with his Chakra. All through his attempts Iruka stayed giving the trainee pointers, it was a surreal experience for the blonde.

"Earth Style: Stalwart Wall!" Naruto pushed his Chakra, frustration getting the best of him he just saturated the earth before him and pushed. To his shock a wall rose from the earth before him. Well "wall" was perhaps generous, it was more a blob of loose dirt that looked like the result of someone digging a pit.

"Well done Naruto! To get anything to rise up at all on your first day training this technique really is a grand accomplishment, you have a real talent for Earth Style!"

"But Sensei that isn't a wall it's a pile," Naruto moped. Iruka laughed stomping on the soft dirt.

"True but it is an excellent beginning. It will take a lot of practice to create the Chakra shape for your wall, the more uniform and solid that shape is the better the resulting wall." Naruto scratched his head thinking.

"Iruka-Sensei why a wall?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean," Iruka asked, puzzled.

"I mean do I have to make a wall shape? Will it work if I want to make a different shape?" Iruka pondered the question for a bit and then shrugged.

"I never really thought about it that way, I just always make a wall because it's a wall technique. That said I don't see why you couldn't use the same Ninjutsu to make any shape you can form with your Chakra." Iruka could see the wheels turning in his students devious mind and decided to get him focus before he created another challenge for the teacher like the one that brought them here today. "Naruto keep practicing, I want to see some improvement by the next Academy session." As Iruka dismissed the blonde he began to wonder what he had just unleashed into an unexpecting world.

 _Two Months Later_

Darkness was absolute in the burrow of the most surprising trainee of Konoha's Ninja Academy. Underground Naruto could see nothing, but through his constant training he was beginning to feel much much more. Surrounding him his Chakra, saturating the earth was cocooned by. There was a time, years in fact, that Naruto had needed to maintain at least the final seal of Subterranean Voyage to maintain his technique but now he was able to by force of will alone. The trainee _pushed_ his Chakra outward he had discovered, over the Academy break, a number of realities about his Earth Style Ninjutsu. First he had discovered that by extending the saturation of his Chakra in the earth he could extend the range of his vibration sensing. This extended saturation proved to have the side benefit of allowing him to travel faster underground. Secondly Naruto had discovered that his near constant training of sensing vibrations had begun to heighten his senses.

 _'There,'_ Naruto thought turning. Above and to his right he felt the vibration he had been waiting for, the telltale steps of a… _'a wild boar,'_ Naruto thought, his mouth beginning to water. _Step… Step, Step.. Step._ The creature moved cautiously, but in spite of its caution it was still approaching his trap. Naruto had not only extended his Chakra outward but upward as well. Through that Chakra saturated soil extended one of his Kusarigama chains hidden just beneath the surface under some berries Naruto had collected as bait. Naruto waited patiently, one of the greatest benefits was being underground made him extremely undetectable. The trade off was that being underground limited the senses, but that was something Naruto was quickly overcoming. _'Just another meter…'_ he could feel the creature drawing close its hunger overcoming its hestiance. _'There!'._

With speed and skill Naruto whipped the arm holding his chain, the saturated earth around it allowed the chain to move nearly unimpeded. Above him Naruto _felt_ his chain burst through the surface and wrap around the wild boar and then the chain itself, _feeling_ the chain lasso take Naruto pulled the boar underground. A minute of struggle was felt, then a minute of silence. In the silence Naruto ascended and upon reaching the surface he drew the strangled boar up to him. Around him the sounds of the forest began to right themselves, insects and small animals giving voice again after going silent from the previous violence. Examining his catch Naruto couldn't help but whistle the boar must weigh 90 kilos.

"I'm going to gut you right here Boar-San," Naruto said respectfully. The blonde had spent most of his break camping out in the woods hunting and practicing his Earth Techniques only really leaving to spar with Tenten and Sasuke. Speaking of Earth Techniques Naruto did two quick hand seals, _'Down to two from four,'_ Naruto thought with satisfaction. Stomping his foot into the ground Naruto again _pushed_ his Chakra into the earth under the boar, creating his desired Chakra shape Naruto shifted the earth. Only a couple seconds after stomping a flat table of earth rose under the boar lifting it to hip level of the blonde. With another satisfied grunt Naruto set to work field dressing the boar. After twenty minutes of work with his kunai a pile of guts sat off to one side and Naruto had the rest slung over his shoulder by a chain.

As the blonde was about to make the trek to his camp a familiar call brought him up short. A dark figure floated down next to the pile of guts Naruto had left behind. Naruto smiled and waved, through the whole break the same big crow had been following him all over eating up whatever guts he left from hunting. Several times the crow had even come into his camp and cawed at him loudly until Naruto had tossed the bird scraps from his meal. At this point the trainee just left the guts out for the crow.

"Enjoy your meal Mr. Crow! I left you quite the feast!" Naruto called to it merrily as he turned to begin his walk back to camp and to his own feast. The blonde was stopped short by a harsh sounding voice, like cawing.

"My name is San actually. Do you think I could have the eyes, they are my favorite?" Naruto stopped and turned back seeing the big crow, San apparently, staring at him expectantly with beady dark eyes.

"Well shit," Naruto responded appropriately.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Surprising Plots

 _Konoha Ninja Academy - 3 Years Later_

"What the hell is going on here!" A loud slam reverberated through the office of Umino Iruka as he pounded his fist into his desk. It was the evening before the final exam for his year of students and he was putting together the cumulative grades of his students to produce his final rankings. Iruka's process was going smoothly until he came to one particular student, a students whose records were driving him insane. Before him was all the paperwork from the last eight years of recording, the grades of Naruto. That paperwork unambiguously demonstrated that Naruto was the worst student in his year, which was only a problem because Iruka was also well aware that was bullshit. What he could not figure out is how, much less why, the little brat had done this.

"Shit, what am I supposed to do? It's not like I have proof that this paperwork has been falsified." Indeed all three copies of blonde trainees records were identical and all appeared to be his work. As Iruka shuffled through the paperwork he just knew it was fake. Holding up Naruto's records from the range the Chunin scoffed, the paperwork showed that Naruto had barely made the cut for accuracy. It wasn't like Iruka forgot that Naruto _passed_ his weapon proficiency on his first day! Iruka knew that Naruto did it. Who else would have placed themselves a single point above failing in every category. The only exceptions were Fitness, Combat, and Missions all of which had Naruto ranked in the middle of his class. Less bullshit but still a sizable load of it.

After about an hour of cursing and flipping through papers Iruka set the infuriating blonde's records aside. _'If the idiot wants to be dead last then he's welcome to it, I have work to get done!'_. Iruka finished his work quickly in spite of his headache and filed the final rankings for his year. _'Whatever his plan is, I hope it is worth it.'_

 _Konoha Ninja Academy - Two Days Later_

It began as a hint of a whisper, soft as a kitten's snores. As the moments passed that distant whisper grew, with each passing minute becoming more and more distinct. Whisper became squeak, squeak became squawk, squawk became scream. Those shrill cries were soon accompanied by the sound of charging rhinos. It was then that Sasuke realized that once more mortal peril was knocking at his proverbial door. The Uchiha had arrived early, at his brother and mother's suggestion, a suggestion he was now sure was folly. The noise coalesced into the form of two young "girls" as Sakura and Ino both tried to enter the classroom before the other and became stuck in the door. A vicious round of clawing, scratching, and… biting? Sasuke shuddered. Finally the two fell into the classroom and spotted their prey, Sasuke began praying as they bolted for the empty chair next to him.

"I'm here first I get to sit next to him!" Sakura shrieked. Grappling for position over the chair in question as Sasuke desperately sought an avenue of escape.

"As if bitch, I was clearly here first!" Ino replied. The two wrestled for a few more seconds until an amused throat clearing interrupted their battle.

"Excuse me, you are both welcome to sit on my lap," Naruto offered. Both girls turned to realize that where there was once a chair there was one only a smiling blonde sitting in the form of a chair where the chair had been. The girls gave a screech and leapt off of Naruto's lap and turned accusatory glares upon him.

"We were here first, that's our chair!" They demanded together. Naruto looked around and shrugged.

"What chair? Clearly I am here, but you are both welcome," he said with an easy smile.

"Never Thief! Sasuke is the only one for me." Naruto couldn't figure out how the two were managing to speak in unison like that but shrugged again as the two girls went to find different seats in disgust.

"Thanks Naruto, you saved my life," Sasuke replied his disgust with the fangirls subsiding rather quickly.

"No problem Sasuke, how's it going?"

"Me, I'm fine I got Rookie of the Year so I'm guaranteed a top notch Jonin-Sensei. Not to mention I'm an Uchiha," Sasuke replied smugly, his transition from terror to arrogant scion of Konoha's most infamous clan complete. _'Most Infamous for now'_ Naruto mentally corrected his omniscient narrator. "Unlike you, you're team and Sensei are a total gamble, because you came in second anything is possible."

"Hmm, well we'll see about that," Naruto answered with a mysterious smile. A smile that Sasuke knew he did not like. Sometimes his blonde friend was too dastardly for the sound of mind to remain as such.

"What are you talking about Naruto, what did you do?" The arrogant mask slipped a crack at the perspective of Naruto pulling off more shenanigans on their last day at the Academy. "Is this going to be like with the penguins?" Naruto snorted _that_ had been funny.

"No one ever expects penguins Sasuke," Naruto replied in a sage tone.

"You know that voice doesn't work right?"

"Why?"

"Because you have a stupid face." A dull thump resounded as Naruto socked Sasuke in the arm good naturedly by way of response, the thump was soon followed by the shrill protestations of fangirls. Potential violence began to swell in the room until Iruka entered silencing the trainees in an instant.

"Welcome to your last day!" There was a cheer as Iruka greeted them. "Each of you here today have been passed Academy Qualification and are now certified to serve as Ninja of Konoha. Congratulations on your accomplishment the determination and skill you have developed during your time here has been validated by the Forehead Protectors each of you have been given. Wear these symbols of your village and your accomplishment with pride!" Naruto self-consciously touched the latest addition to his wardrobe. Across his forehead he wore the matte finished plate of metal marked by the symbol Naruto had been dreaming of wearing for as long as he could remember, the Leaf.

"I am personally full of pride for each of you as well. It has been my honor to be your instructor during your time here at the Academy. I eagerly await what you will become as you go forward, and never be afraid to give your old Sensei a visit from time to time. My final word to you before I announce team assignments is simple, Be Shinobi!" His announcement was met by cheers and Iruka bowed respectfully to his class. As the applause died down Iruka switched back to his normal businesslike comportment and began to list the team selections and Jonin-Sensei. With each pronouncement a Jonin entered the lecture hall and departed with the assigned group of Genin.

"On Team Seven Uchiha Sasuke," the room silenced in anticipation. "Haruno Sakura," this was met by a single scream of delight and a chorus of agonized screams. "And…" Iruka paused staring at his sheet of paper in astonishment, _'that sneaky shit,'_ Iruka thought with dawning realization. "And Naruto." The shocked Chunin's realization was confirmed when the blonde in question smiled too innocently at him and then fist bumped the deeply astonished looking Uchiha next to him.

Hatake Kakashi was considered by many to be the most promising young Jonin in the village. The reputation had been earned through more than a decade of nearly flawless mission work on his part. The white-haired ninja was considered one of the most skill ninjutsu specialists in Konoha and was often sought after for tutoring, at times even by fellow Jonin. More privately Kakashi was revered in the ANBU for his peerless leadership and tireless dedication. For Hatake though it all meant very little, he spent most of his time in regretful memory. ' _Well that and with my "novels",'_ he thought ruefully.

Looking up from his vigil by the Memorial Stone Kakashi checked the position of the sun. _'I've probably let my new brats stew enough,'_ Kakashi thought ruffling his impossibly spiky hair in consideration. Three hours of waiting was surely plenty, he had a reputation to maintain after all. Making a single hand seal, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Moments later the Jonin appeared atop the main building of the Academy complex and leisurely made his way downstairs. The Academy was just how he remembered it and made for a nostalgic walk, he could still remember where he met… shaking his head Iruka approached the lecture hall and casually stepped inside.

"Team Seven?" He asked blandly.

"You're late!" Was his only shrill greeting. Arranged across the classroom were his three students. The pink haired harpy, Haruno Sakura, was fuming down at him from her seat. Across from her sat Uchiha Sasuke, the Rookie of the Year, and really the only interesting member of the team. Finally there was the blonde, Naruto. Kakashi found him sitting comfortably reading a worn book. The Genin appeared quite fit at 1.6 meters but was unremarkable. Suddenly Naruto closed his book and met Kakashi's eye and it was like a lightning bolt struck to Jonin, _'He looks just like…_ ' shaking his head Kakashi banished the absurd and depressing thought.

"My first impression of you is: you're boring. Follow me."

Soon the party of four found themselves atop the Academy building, the three Genin arranged in a loose semi-circle around the Jonin. Kakashi took his time assessing the three. _'Standard arrogant Uchiha and apparently decently talented, he is the reason they assigned this squad to me. Haruno, allegedly an intelligent student from a respected civilian clan, most notably a clear fangirl. Finally Naruto, an orphan with unknown relations he looks fit at least,'_ Kakashi abruptly ended his internal monologue with a brief external one.

"Welcome to Team Seven, please introduce yourselves with likes, dislikes, and dreams." The three stared stupidly at him for a moment before finally Sakura spoke up.

"Uh, Kakashi-Sensei could you go first as an example?" The girl asked tentatively. Internally the Jonin groaned, they needed an example to introduce themselves?!

"Sure I'm Hatake Kakashi Jonin of Konoha, my likes include various things… my dislikes are also miscellaneous… my dreams are quite _'Perverted,'..._ uh, private. Sakura you're up."

"Oh sure my likes are," she paused giggling looking with a blush at Sasuke. "My dislikes are Ino-Pig and my other rivals. My dreams are…" She trailed off blushing as she again looked hungrily at Sasuke, _'Perverted as well,'_ filled in Kakashi with an internal chuckle.

"Okay unsatisfactory to say the least, Sasuke you're next."

"Of course, I am Uchiha Sasuke. I enjoy training on the rare occasions I am able to do so with those not woefully short of my talent." Kakashi saw Sasuke shoot Naruto a challenging smirk which, to Kakashi's surprise, the blonde took with a wry smile. "I dislike mindless fawning as well as pranks. My dream… no my ambition is to surpass my brother," Sasuke concluded fiercely.

"Itachi is a ninja with few equals, you aim high indeed," Kakashi responded in a rare moment of salience. "Enough childish ambition though last one's least, Naruto you're it."

"I'm Naruto, I love sparring, training, and hunting. I dislike wasting time and those that squander opportunity. My dream is to take the name of my clan and become a respected Ninja of the Leaf." Kakashi was surprised, apparently the dead last was the most mature member of the bunch.

"Great enough of that prattle, tomorrow morning meet me at Training Ground Seven at 7 am. This will be your true final exam to enter into service as a Genin." Immediately there were astonished outbursts from the assembled squad, but Kakashi silenced them with a wave of his hand. "This is reality, if you do not pass the survival test tomorrow you will be placed into the remedial training program which is quite… arduous. I recommend you skip breakfast so that you don't throw up." With that dramatic finish Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves. With the Jonin's departure so departed the air of gravity and the three _potential_ Genin were left looking at one another.

"Naruto you are coming with me!" Sasuke demanded as he sprung off the roof. Naruto gave the aghast looking Sakura a wave before following Sasuke. The ebony haired ninja led Naruto to the abandoned sparring circles of the Academy and rounded on him. "How the fuck did you pull this off?" He demanded.

"I'm sure I don't know what you are referring to my good teammate!" Naruto responded as overly cheerful as possible.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! We were the top two in the Academy there is no chance that they would team us up together!" He growled, Sasuke really did not like being left in the dark.

"Fine. Fine!" Naruto responded calmingly. "Look since you are the Rookie of the Year and an Uchiha clan heir you were bound to receive the best Jonin-Sensei, right?"

"Of course!"

"So I figured that rather than trust my team placement to chance I would game the system a bit," Naruto said sheepishly.

"What do you mean "game the system"," Sasuke ground out to his infuriating friend.

"Look you know Tenten right?" Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Well she graduated last year and has been on a Genin Team all year. Her team was configured as a pairing of the rookie of her year, the top kunoichi, and the dead last. So I did some digging and it seems that is a common practice. So I just snuck into Academy records and just doctored my records slightly."

"By slightly do you mean that you made yourself Dead Last?" Sasuke filled in with a mixture of horror and awe, Naruto nodded in satisfaction. "Have I told you lately that you are an infuriating ass?"

"Not in 11 days in point of fact." After a brief scuffle the two talented fourteen-year-olds began to scheme in preparation of their upcoming test. After hashing out different possibilities and potential plans the two Genin concluded there was no way to fully plan for the unknown. As the two were preparing to part ways until the morning Naruto decided to address the elephant in the room… the pink elephant. "Look Sasuke we need to talk about Sakura." Naruto just managed to restrain his laugh in response to the Uchiha's involuntary flinch at the mere mention of their third teammate.

"Why the hell would you want to talk about her?!" Naruto sighed, this was going to be harder than he imagined.

"I know what she's like, all of your fangirls are crazy, but she is our teammate."

"So what? She is useless."

"Look I get it Sasuke I'm not arguing that point! Still she is our teammate and you know as well as I that Genin are part of the Konoha Ninja system as a team. That means our success is tied to hers."

"Hn." Naruto was momentarily stunned, he hadn't heard Sasuke use that noise in years.

"My point is this: the more we can get her to improve the faster we can advance to Chunin."

"And when I make Chunin I won't have to deal with her anymore," Sasuke finished. "Alright I take your point so what's your plan."

"Simple your fangirls will do anything you say so you can just give her direction. Sakura is smart have her pick up Genjutsu or maybe some Medical Techniques, anything she can add will help us."

"Fine. So tomorrow no matter what the task is you distract Kakashi and I will get Sakura to help out somehow."

"Exactly. See you tomorrow Sasuke, we're Ninja now and it's time to show the world how awesome we are!"

Kakashi arrived precisely when he meant to and was unsurprised to find a trio of cranky brats waiting for him in the midst of Training Ground Seven. In a nice open clearing near a bubbling creek sat three prominent training posts. Kakashi led his grumbling Genin through the glorious and bright Konoha morning to stand before the posts. The Jonin placed a huge clock on one log and turned to address his potential squad.

"The test is simple, you have until noon to swipe a bell from me," Kakashi held up two small metal bells. "If you fail to acquire a bell I will send you to the remedial program."

"But Sensei there are only two bells?" Inquired Sakura cautiously.

"Excellent counting! If you fail to grab one you are off to the remedial program. The test begins now!" _Poof!_ Sasuke dropped a smoke bomb in that instant, surprising Kakashi just a bit with his quick thinking.

' _Maybe there is something to this Rookie of the Year.'_ As the smoke cleared there was no sign of the Uchiha nor the civilian girl, as for Naruto. "Uhh are you sure this is a good idea, you know I'm a Jonin right?" Before him Naruto stood casually, having moved not a wit but for an excited smile. Kakashi observed him critically for a moment, the teen stood at 1.6 meters and actually appeared a capable figure. The blonde stood before him comfortably wearing a simple charcoal hoodie and tan pants, complemented by his dark navy ninja sandals and headband forehead protector on full display.

"Of course! I have a plan!" Naruto responded brightly. Kakashi simply shook his head in disappointment.

' _This kid is an idiot, regardless of his skill. May as well get some reading done,'_ The Genin tensed for a moment as he reached toward his pouch, but upon seeing the book Kakashi withdrew he relaxed again. Kakashi opened to his place in the book and soon began giggling in a rather shamelessly perverted fashion. After a minute of this Kakashi took note of motion. Naruto pulled his hood over his head, hiding his blonde hair and pulled up the sleeves of his hoodie revealing leather bracers. Kakashi's keen eye picked out small seals on the bracers, ' _now that's interesting.'_ Muttering something about a panda the blonde activated the seals on each bracer and with a small burst of smoke two gleaming kusarigama popped into the blondes hands and he expertly twisted the chains around the bracers. Then without a word the blonde charged.

Immediately Kakashi's suspicions about the blonde being fit were confirmed by the acceleration and speed Naruto displayed. In the space of a couple heartbeat the blonde crossed the distance and sliced mid-level at Kakashi's book, to which the reading Jonin took a half step back avoiding. Continuing the forward and now twisting motion of his first strike, Naruto bent his forward leg spinning a low kick that caused Kakashi to leap over. With the spin Naruto brought another mid-level swipe with his second sickle blade that Kakashi narrowly avoided. It was in that moment that Kakashi realized he may not be able to read as the chain from the first kusarigama wrapped around him Naruto yanking it tight with a backward roll. The force crushed Kakashi, whose figure immediately reverted to that of an obliterated log with a burst of smoke. Kakashi came rushing forward into Naruto's blind spot, _'This punk thinks he's hotshit, time to take him down a peg.'_ A powerful kick sent Naruto's form tumbling from behind, only to revert to a log as it bounced away. Slightly disturbed Kakashi surveyed the clearing from his lonely place in the midst of the clearing. _'What the hell was that,'_ he thought furiously, quickly realizing that Naruto had disappeared.

' _Damn I need to focus a bit more, how did he avoid that strike? He shouldn't have sensed me coming… I must be losing my edge.'_ Kakashi brought himself to focus, he was going to need to get ahold of himself. ' _Still there is no way a Genin should have sensed my position so quickly.'_ The seasoned Jonin allowed the burgeoning mystery that was Naruto to drift to the back of his mind as he reoriented himself back to the task at hand. Coming to absolute stillness again Kakashi opened his senses fully… there, in a moment the slight swaying of leaves was the only evidence that a hunter had been present.

Kakashi observed Uchiha Sasuke silently for a moment as the Genin lingered on the edge of a different clearing. After a moment's analysis the Jonin blurred away, appearing in the midst of the clearing offering Sasuke a friendly smile.

"Your teammate managed a decent showing of Taijutsu, care to show me how an Uchiha fares with Ninjutsu?" By the time Kakashi finished speaking Sasuke was speeding through hand seals, ending with the Tiger seal.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!" A horse-sized ball of fire sped from Sasuke's open mouth colliding directly with the waiting Jonin. The ebony haired Genin didn't stand still he began changing position the moment the Fireball left his lips, a telltale reddish glow coming from his eyes each one flanked by a single tomoe. Sasuke's hereditary eyes flashed in every direction working to locate his foe but having little luck. Realization dawned on the Uchiha at the last instant and he leapt into the air, the very next moment grasping hands burst from the earth where he had been. "I'm not falling for that again!" Falling back Sasuke disappeared into the surrounding flora as Kakashi rose fully from the ground.

"What's up with these kids?! How did he even know I would do that, he seemed familiar with that tactic," Kakashi wondered aloud. Two for two this squad had surprised him, there was no evidence they had ascertained the secret to his test but Kakashi would freely admit that the boys had impressed him. _'Let's see about the final member of the squad,'._

Several minutes later Kakashi discovered Haruno Sakura skulking in a bush, doing nothing of apparent use. Quietly he slunk beside her, somewhat disappointed that she had no idea he was there. _'Let's try Genjutsu, that should be within a brainy kid's capabilities.'_ Silently Kakashi cast the Genjutsu over her and she slumped directly to the ground. For a moment Kakashi stared at her deadpanned. _'That was… inauspicious.'_ Kakashi turned away to head back toward the clock when a familiar and deadly sound reached him, the Jonin backflipped away as a series of Kunai peppered the forest floor in his wake. Abruptly Kakashi reversed his direction as another Fireball came ripping toward his avenue of retreat.

As Kakashi came to rest and made to pursue Sasuke he was suddenly tugged downward by grasping hands eerily similar to his own. By the time he managed to wrench himself away from the downward pull he was down to his knees. As he extracted himself from the ground with impressive speed he heard a slap, a high five? Turning he found Team Seven arrayed together high fiving as Sakura held two tinkling bell aloft.

' _Well shit, I guess they passed,'._ The three continued, unabashed, to celebrate before the increasingly annoyed Jonin. Kakashi flared his Chakra and unleashed a portion of his killing intent. Instantly the three Genin dropped to their knees and the forest was brought to an immediate standstill, every creature quiet for fear of their lives. Languidly Kakashi approached the trembling yet unable to move Genin, their eyes all flashing like wounded animals. Stooping Kakashi took the bells from Sakura.

"Why would you be celebrating?" He asked with a deliberate and deadly tone. The three shivered but were unable to answer. As abruptly as he had begun the exercise in humility Kakashi ended it clamping down on both his intent and Chakra. "Well you should! You Pass!" Confused relief flooded the faces of Team Seven and they staggered to their feet. "Consider me impressed! You have divined Underneath the Underneath of this test. You are a team and must always maintain that mindset to succeed. As a great man once told me, those that break the written and unwritten rules are deemed trash… but be that as it may… those that would disregard their comrades are even worse than trash. Remember this and report at 0800 tomorrow at the Mission's Office to begin duty as Ninja of the Leaf!" With that Kakashi disappeared leaving the three shaken Genin alone.

"Awesome we are officially Ninja of the Leaf!" Naruto was first to recover and began hopping around in joy. This was what he had been working towards for his entire life! Sasuke, with more reserve, joined the celebration and accepted high fives from the blonde while avoiding hugs.

"Umm… Sas… Sasuke would you umm… would you go on a date with me to celebrate," Sakura stammered out, a blush threatening to overtake her entire body. Naruto gave Sasuke a sharp look as the Uchiha was preparing a sharp rebuke, swallowing Sasuke managed a strained smile.

"Not today Sakura, we must all redouble our training now, from here on out our missions won't be practice." With that, the three parted ways and Naruto gave Sasuke an appreciative nod, Team Seven was still young but maybe they were on an upward trajectory.

 _Naruto's Hunting Camp -_

Evening steadily overtook day in the land of Konoha, sunlight waning and the activity of the village crested and then began its own steady waning. Outside of the village proper in the midst of the woods that gave Konoha its moniker Naruto practiced. The blonde Genin, ' _officially now,'_ he reminded himself with pride, stood sideways on the trunk of a large tree. In that awkward position he was attempting to extend his Chakra to the ground from his perch and having very little success. First Naruto had managed no success in pushing his Chakra through intermediaries into the earth to perform his Earth Ninjutsu. Something about a tree, for example, just stopped his attempts to push his Chakra through to the ground. It had frustrated the blonde because it meant that his entire repertoire of ninjutsu required him to be in contact with the earth to perform. Secondly Naruto was distracted by his recollection of his Genin Exam from earlier in the day.

For the most part Naruto found himself pleased with how the exam had gone. "Dammit," he muttered failing once more to push his Chakra through the tree, as if there were a dam stopping the flow of energy. His rough plan with Sasuke had worked beautifully. Naruto distracted Kakashi while Sasuke convinced Sakura to work with them. Then Sasuke distracted Kakashi while Naruto set up a plan with Sakura. The climax of the plan had worked ideally with Sasuke and Naruto providing a dual distraction that moved Kakashi into position for Sakura's strike. Despite the execution and outcome there were two elements that Naruto could not take his mind off of. First there was Kakashi's demonstration at the end of the exam.

"I can't believe how much more powerful a Jonin is then me!" Naruto muttered, again struggling to come to grips with how tall the proverbial mountain to climb was toward becoming a ninja of repute, much less a ninja worthy to take the Senju name! It was both frustrating and motivating to know how much work he had before him. Second Naruto kept replaying the end of his initial clash with Kakashi. After the Jonin had repositioned using the Substitution Technique the speed of his counterattack had nearly obliterated their plan from the get go. Only the fact that Naruto had mastered the Substitution Technique to the point that he didn't need hand seals to use it. That had been based on the advice from Senju Tobirama's book, _'Dedicate yourself to the Substitution Log, and the Log will dedicate itself to you.'_ In addition to the quick Substitution it was Naruto's most closely guarded secret that had saved the plan, Earth Style: Vibration Sensing.

 _Flashback Technique - About One Year Earlier_

In a clearing near one of Naruto's hunting camps the thirteen-year-old trainee was hard at work practicing various shapes for his Earth Style: Stalwart Wall technique. Concentrating Naruto rested his hands against the ground, saturating the ground before him with Chakra. Closing his eyes to focus Naruto _shifted_ his Chakra into the form he was attempting to make. It had become obvious to Naruto that despite the name of his technique there was no reason he had to make a wall with it, so for years he had been practicing. Tall walls, short walls, thin and thick, angled walls, on and on the shapes went each having to be carefully fashioned into his mental chakra memory with tiresome practice. As Naruto had progressed he decided to attempt more offensive options and so today he was continuing to practice forming earth spikes. In the midst of his concentration Naruto felt a movement behind him. Quickly the trainee canceled his technique and twisted away from the presence sneaking up on him while he grasped the kusarigama fastened to his back.

"Yo Shefu!" Came the croaking voice of the crow, San. Naruto immediately lowered his weapon and gave the crow a scathing look.

"Why are you always sneaking up on me you damn crow?!" The bird in question attempted to protest that he was in fact a crow, but Naruto didn't give him the chance. "Don't you see I'm practicing! I need to concentrate!" The frustrated blonde moved to restart his technique but San stopped him with waving wings.

"Hey hey, I'm just trying to help you are going to be a Ninja right?" Glaring Naruto nodded his assent. "Well there you go, I'm helping your awareness you don't want enemies sneaking up and killing you do you?!" San cawed. "It's the least I can do since you are always feeding me Shefu!"

"... I guess that makes a weird sort of sense San," Naruto ground out in spite of his irritation with the dark bird. San stared at Naruto with his beady black eyes for a moment in deep thought… or at least Naruto thought, what does a bird look like in deep thought?

"How did you know I was there just now," San finally asked. Naruto was about to say he heard him but stopped short of a response.

' _No I didn't hear him… I felt him land behind me, but how did I,'_ Now Naruto was left deep in thought while the crow began to impatiently scrounge for bugs in the ground Naruto's practice had torn up. ' _That was the same sensation I get while underground, but how is that possible?'_ Experimentally Naruto channeled his Chakra into the earth as if for his Subterranean Voyage Technique but rather than sinking down he simply saturated the ground around him with Chakra. Closing his eyes Naruto concentrated on the sense he had been honing every since Uchiha Itachi's impromptu lesson. _'... yes, there, I can feel San moving around,'_ with eyes close Naruto pointed to where he felt the vibrations. Opening his eyes Naruto found himself pointing directly at the large black bird.

"Holy Shit San! I can use this above ground, I could use this as a Sensory Technique!" Startled by the sudden outburst San fluffed up his feathers and gave a shockingly accurate impression of a shoulder shrug. Naruto paid him no mind though, this was huge. "A sensory technique is a game changer, if I can develop this to use all the time…" Trailing off the blonde's mind was moving a light speed. This skill could give him a constant sense of the world around him 360 degrees, regardless of cover and obstacles. "Earth Style: Vibration Sensing, time to be a Shinobi and practice."

 _Flashback Technique End -_

Naruto was broken out of his reverie by a heavy weight lighting upon his left shoulder, an irritatingly familiar weight.

"Dammit San! What have I told you about this?!" Naruto yelled at San, who simply stared at him with beady crow eyes totally unrepentant.

"I'm just helping, you've got that ground shaking feel thing but that won't do anything if I approach from the air." Sighing Naruto slumped his shoulders, this damn bird didn't listen to him at all. Digging into his pouch Naruto grabbed a few spare pieces of dry meat and tossed them to his corvid friend who gobbled them up eagerly.

"I take your point, I need to be more aware." As San busied himself with eating Naruto went back to his reflections. Kakashi had been so fast that the range of his Vibration Sensing had only just given him enough time to use his Substitution. Naruto was pretty sure that the Jonin had not been moving anywhere near his top speed which meant that even with his sensory technique any enemy Jonin would be able to cut him down before he was aware of their presence. Naruto had been privately quite proud of the fact that he could maintain his sensory technique constantly in the midst of sparring to a range of about a 10m circle. "Clearly that isn't even close to enough." With that Naruto went back to what he excelled at, practice.

 **A/N - Apologies for being a day late, hope you enjoy! Read and Review it discourages writer's block.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six - Genin Grind

 _Konoha Agricultural District_

"Kakashi-Sensei when did you first become obsessed with shit?" Naruto asked morosely. The Jonin quirked an eye at him in surprise.

"What do you mean Naruto?" To his surprise it wasn't Naruto who answered but Sasuke.

"Do remember that first "mission" you took us on?" Kakashi shrugged mostly engrossed in his book. "The one where we had to clean out the Inuzuka Kennels?"

"Yes, why?"

"It was dog shit," deadpanned Sasuke.

"What about that mission a few weeks ago for the Mail Service?" Naruto followed. Again Kakashi shrugged and let out an odd giggle as he flipped to a new page in his book. "Specifically we had to clean up after their horses?"

"Yes, why?" Kakashi automatically responded.

"It was horse shit," Naruto replied with growing frustration.

"... What about the sewer cleaning mission Sensei," Sakura asked, nervously chiming in.

"What about it?"

"It was literal shit," the pink-haired Genin replied firmly. Around the Jonin Team Seven was slowly inching closer accusatory stares on every face. Finally Kakashi put his book away with a sigh so that he could address his team.

"I don't see these isolated events would make you think I was obsessed with excrement?" Kakashi delivered his response evenly, while keeping an admirable hold on his deep amusement.

"Yeah what about the cattle ranching! That was bullshit!" Naruto called with rising fury.

"And then there was latrine duty, we had to polish shit!" Sasuke growled.

"Enough! Genin of Team Seven if I were so obsessed with shit how do you explain today's mission?" Admirably Kakashi refrained from open laughter as all three Genin grew cherry red with loathing. It was just that moment that their client, a farmer in Konoha's Agricultural District approached the waiting team. Entirely missing the tension in the air the elderly farmer greeted them.

"You must be Team Seven, I'm glad you're here your teacher here assured me that you are well qualified to meet the requirements of my mission." The man gestured to his left. "As you can see I have a load of shit that needs to be spread over my fields, have at it." The clearly hearing impaired man left despite the uproarous noise that followed his announcement.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

"Die Sensei!"

"You're a real piece of shit Kakashi!" As the Jonin agilely avoided the storm of projectiles sent his way by his infuriated troops he finally allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Being a Jonin-Sensei is actually very rewarding."

Maito Gai prided himself on several crucial things. First as a man of ideals. Second as Konoha Beautiful Green Beast. Third on his overflowing Youth! Finally he took pride in leading his students through the Springtime of their Youth! In this spirit he was in a fantastic mood, deep in the heart of training ground nine his team was hard at work training. To his right Rock Lee, his most dedicated student, was beating a training log to death with his endless jabs.

"Your Youth is overflowing Lee it is marvelous! You must shift your lead foot to be inline with your youthful movements for your strikes to truly explode with bounty!" Gai called to his identical appearing student.

"Yosh! Yes Gai-Sensei!" Lee cried with a gusto. Gai smiled winningly at the lad as he made the necessary adjustment to his form. Shifting his gaze Gai's countenance took on a more reserved facade as he took in the training of Hyuuga Neji. The serious young man was moving through a complicated kata. Maito Gai, as a longtime fanboy of Taijutsu, had been in awe of the Gentle Fist for most of his life. The Hyuuga Clan Taijutsu was beautiful to behold in the forms of a master, something young Neji was well on his way toward becoming. Gai silently looked on as Neji gracefully flowed from one movement to the next, the young Hyuuga's grace belied the deadly speed and precision hidden within the movements.

Breaking his gaze from his most talented student Gai finally turned to the place in training ground nine that the males lovingly called "The Forest of Steel". Higurashi Tenten had been adopted as a child by a blacksmithing couple who ran Konoha's premier Ninja Outfitter. As such the girl had an… appreciation for weapons of every shape and size. Gai had opted to teach her how to use sealing scrolls early on in her Genin career and the youth had adapted the simple tool into a deadly style that involved literal storms of steel. The Forest of Steel bore the marks of her dedication to weaponry. As Gai looked on he took careful notice as Tenten suddenly moved aggressively toward the far end of her training area. The girl began to whip projectiles deep into the Forest of Steel with such ferocity that Gai was taken aback, but when he heard screams the Jonin moved toward the violence with a speed that most would have trouble tracking.

Arriving near Tenten, though far enough away to avoid collateral damage, Gai's concern disappeared despite the flying Kunai, Senbon, Shuriken, Caltrops, and… was that a boar spear? For there at the focal point of Tenten's ferocious assault was a familiar blonde figure whipping two chains around himself defensively, Naruto.

"Oi! What the hell Tenten?!" He shouted as Gai looked on a smile creeping on to his face. Tenten threw two final Senbon which Naruto casually dodged with a small side step.

"Just making sure you won't get any extra holes now that you are a real ninja taking _missions_ ," Tenten said the word with a such a sarcastic emphasis that Naruto actually growled.

"You could have warned me about this D-Rank Bullshit!" Gai smirked, it appeared his rival had managed to haze his students well.

"You could have visited me more after you became a Genin!" Tenten riposted.

"You're right, sorry Tenten we have just been really busy with… _missions,_ on top of my regular training," Naruto sighed. Brightening Gai watched as Naruto brought out a shining smile, ' _No blinding shine though, Kakashi my rival it is clear you are not able to train your Genin to smile as I am able to train mine!'_ As Gai finished making a mental note to remind Kakashi of his victory Naruto pulled a package out of his pouch and presented it to Tenten a flush covering his face. "I'm sorry that I haven't visited you in awhile. I got this made for you, actually by your Dad…" The blonde was stumbling with his words as Tenten began to smile brightly at him holding the package in her hands. "I am so grateful for your friendship and for all you have done for me, like these awesome seals on my bracers," he patted his leather bracers. "Anyway I was trying to find chain techniques in the library and I found this special style of chain weapon and thought you might like it. So now that I am making some money on missions I had your dad make it for you secretly." Nerves overtaking him, the blushing blond gestured that Tenten should open the package.

Tenten tore the heavy package open with a gusto uncovering a matte metal chain three ended chain weapon. She carefully pulled the weapon from the package, as she did Gai noted that along with three chains connected to a single sickle the chains themselves appeared to have teeth on every link.

"It's called a Mitsuboshi and," Naruto was cut off when Tenten stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight hug and gave him a peck on the cheek after which she stepped back quickly.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." As the two teens stood blushing Gai couldn't help but chuckle aloud.

"The Springtime of Youth indeed!" Finally the last two members of Team Nine realized there had been a disturbance to their training and approached.

"Naruto-San have Lee and I offended you in some way?" Neji asked politely. Naruto turned a flushed face toward the Hyuuga in confusion.

"What?"

"Indeed Naruto what have Neji and I done to deserve your cruelty?" As Naruto just blinked at the two boys in confusion, Tenten rounded on the boys with a fury.

"Shut the hell up you idiots Naruto gave me a present it has nothing to do with you!"

"Do you intend to make use of this tool in future training sessions," Neji asked rhetorically.

"Of course!" She responded impatiently.

"Then Naruto has effectively armed you in a way that will be detrimental to our health and safety," Neji concluded. Tenten looked about ready to kill the boy so Gai decided now would be a good time to intervene.

"Lee it has been awhile since last you and Naruto sparred what do you think about a rematch?" Lee's eyes immediately caught fire and he raced to stand before Naruto.

"Yosh! Yes would you like to try once again to overcome me in battle Naruto?" The blonde was not one to back down from a fight, especially since he rarely even drew with Lee much less did he actually win.

"Are you brave enough to have a full spar, not just Taijutsu Lee?" Naruto asked slyly. Before Gai could intervene on behalf of his excitable charge Lee was already shaking the blonde's hand.

"I have the bravery of the blossoming lily, I accept!"

"Good," Naruto smirked and Gai was quite sure Lee was about to learn a painful albeit valuable lesson. The two boys squared off and Naruto unsealed his training kusarigama with a practiced motion and two small puffs of smoke. The boys, grinning all the while, sized one another up and Gai did the same. The blonde was not a member of his squad but due to his close relationship with Tenten, ' _Closer than he realizes I'm sure,',_ Naruto had been a common part of their training. The boy was a year younger than his team but Gai had been impressed by what he had seen over the past year. The blonde was exceedingly skilled with his kusarigama despite obviously lacking a unifying style. In addition to his physical skill Naruto had also impressed Gai with his mind, the boy was practically a walking quote from _1000 Sayings_ , a book given to every Konoha Ninja at some point.

As Gai stepped forward to begin the spar he had instigated he took special note of the sly grin playing across Naruto's face. _'It appears that though Lee has had an insurmountable physical advantage to this point in their spars that Lee is about to learn physicality is not the only way to win a fight,'_ despite the impending beating that his favored student was about to receive Gai still found himself looking forward to what the sly blonde had up his sleeve.

"Begin!" Gai shouted suddenly. With equal suddenness Lee went on the offensive as was his custom. Gai slipped backward as Lee moved in at a blur, the green clad ninja feinted a jab before ducking low attempting his patented Leaf Hurricane kick. Having fallen for this maneuver countless times Naruto actually lurched toward the Lee's feint, avoiding the kick and lashed out with his lead sickle. Lee hastily abandoned his attack, somersaulting backward to avoid the weapon.

"Nicely countered Naruto-Kun!" Lee complimented before immediately charging forward again. Lee came in with a strong right hook, but as he planted his foot to propel him into Naruto's guard his footing slipped. At that exact moment Naruto shifted his crossed kusarigama from a guard into a cross slice. Despite his stumble Lee managed to catch one with a desperate block but the other caught him unprotected, the hardened wooden blade crashing into the older Genin's unprotected side. Lee allowed himself to dash with the momentum of Naruto's strike again gaining distance but this time Naruto pursued the faster Genin. Just as Lee planted his feet to counter his pursuer again he lost his footing, both feet slipping out from under him as he fell Naruto flung one of his weighted ropes and captured Lee. With a mighty tug Lee came flying bound across his torso towards Naruto's charge, the blonde drove a knee into Lee's gut and bore the ensnared Genin to the ground with a sickle at his throat.

"Round to Naruto!" Gai declared and the grinning Genin gave a holler of victory as he got off of his downed opponent. After his exaltation Gai was pleased to note that Naruto had immediately helped Lee to free himself and pulled him to his feet. Rock Lee had an expression of wonder on his face as he took in his opponent.

"Your youthfulness is indeed remarkable today Naruto-kun! Shall we go another round!?" Lee cheerful as always was eager to take on this new level of challenge. As the boys readied themselves Gai replayed the match in his mind. Naruto had been quick to capitalize on Lee's missteps, too quick. With his focus set on ascertained Naruto's ploy, Gai idly restarted their spar. The second round went nearly the same, Lee managed a glancing blow on the blonde but again ended the round ensnared while he lost his footing Naruto having captured him at the ideal moment. Gai simply could not figure out how the blonde was managing such perfectly timed strikes with Lee's loss of footing.

Naruto and Lee again began to prepare themselves for another go, as they did Gai turned to find Tenten and Neji watching the proceedings carefully. Tenten had a knowing smile while Neji had his Byakugan active.

"Tenten do you know what Naruto is doing?" Gai asked curiously.

"I don't know exactly what he is doing but I have a rough idea, you can't tell Sensei?" At Gai's shaking head, Tenten smiled with pride for her… friend. Seeing Tenten unwilling to share more at the moment he turned to Neji.

"What do you see Neji?" The stoic Hyuuga was quiet for a moment, clearly deep in thought.

"... Naruto is channeling Chakra through his feet into the ground… as you know I cannot perceive what he is doing with it underground though." Now that was extremely interesting to the Jonin. Naruto had never displayed any ninjutsu in his time training with team nine, but Tenten's lack of surprise at Neji's revelations meant that Naruto clearly had some ability with Ninjutsu.

"Let us see how the final round turns out and then we can ask Naruto himself." Gai left the onlooking Genin and once again began the spar between Lee and Naruto. Rock Lee charged forward, but with more caution for his footing this time. While Lee managed to maintain his footing on what was clearly irregularly soft ground, the caution slowed him to the point that his speed was even with Naruto's for whom the footing seemed normal. For several minutes the boys were in deep concentration trading blow after blow. Both boys receiving minor lumps but neither landing a decisive strike. Then as Lee moved into a roundhouse that should have struck Naruto flush in the head Naruto just moved. Not a step, Gai noted, rather the blond sunk to down to his knees in the earth avoiding the kick. In the same motion Naruto's body shifted forward, like the ground itself was moving him. Naruto tackled Lee's standing leg in the midst of his roundhouse and drove the older Genin to the ground and then _into_ the ground! To the astonishment of everyone Lee was buried to his chin in the ground and Naruto hopped up and out of the earth like it wasn't even there.

"Hell yeah!" While Team Nine was left dumbstruck, Naruto allowed himself several fist pumps of victory. "Sorry Lee but it feels good to finally come out on top in one of our spars!" Tenten was the first to recover and ran over to congratulate the blonde, with a big excited hug that left him blushing anew.

"Wow Naruto-kun that was very impressive! I've never seen you do that before."

"It's just something new I have been working on," he replied embarrassed at the contact and praise of his friend. Gai was also quite impressed the application of the blonde's ninjutsu into that spar was a powerful indicator of Naruto's combat readiness.

"Would you mind telling us how you managed that Naruto? Your youth was overflowing while you were taking away Lee's footing!"

"Oh you noticed that too?" Naruto said self-consciously, seeing the three standing members of Team Nine nodding he began to explain. "Well as you know I haven't been able to keep up with Lee's speed and strength and I have been trying to figure out how to level the playing field for awhile. The Senju say, _"Without strong roots even the mightiest tree falls."_ So I decided I could apply that to Lee by affecting his footing."

"Very wise, youthful footwork is the foundation of all Taijutsu to undermine the foundation of a fighter like Lee is an advanced strategy indeed," Gai praised. Naruto's blush returned, albeit for different reasons.

"Was that an Earth Ninjutsu you were using Naruto-San?" Neji asked with polite curiosity.

"Yes, I was using Subterranean Voyage." Now that took Gai by surprise, reanalyzing the fight he could not recall the blonde using any hand seals which was an impressive demonstration of skill.

"How, I mean you sort of used it at the end, but what about before?" Tenten finally spoke up with her question. Though clearly not wanting to go into great detail the blonde continued under the barrage of questions.

"Subterranean Voyage essentially uses chakra to move the ground like a fluid, usually that is applied to my movement, but it isn't limited to me, I can effect the ground around me to a certain radius…"

"Which is how you affected Lee-Kun's footing and were able to anticipate when and where it would affect him." Gai finished. As the Genin continued to speak Gai was left deep in thought. _'To be able to actively use Ninjutsu like that in conjunction with Taijutsu is a feat more profound than any of them perhaps realize. The Hyuuga clan is built entirely upon the combination of skilled Taijutsu paired with a hereditary Ninjutsu. Naruto's application is certainly not of the same quality but all the same for a Genin this is… remarkable. Just who will you become Naruto?'_

"Back to training! Naruto why don't you join Tenten she appears to have a new weapon to practice with!" With that three Genin took off to their respective training, leaving Gai deep in thought and Rock Lee submerged in the earth.

"I will free myself using the movement of my flexing muscles or I will do 100 laps around the village on my pinky toes!"

"Your Youth is indeed inspiring Lee-Kun!"

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee-Kun!"

"Gai-Sensei!" As the two green clad ninja continued their shouts, three Genin desperately made their escape to avoid being drawn into the Genjutsu that resulted from explosion of Youth.

—

 _Konoha Genin Training Grounds_

Training Ground Seven was in many ways a typical design for the basic training areas on offer around Konoha. The ground consisted primarily of forest comprised of the dense powerful trees that give the village its name while also being dotted by a number of clearings. There was a small creek running through the midst of the area with a bridge that served as a defacto place for Team Seven to gather at the beginning and end of training sessions. This particular day a couple months after the formation of Team Seven found the three Genin and their Sensei coming to the end of their typical team session. As Kakashi looked over his Genin he couldn't help but chuckle, he had managed to wrangle them the particularly inane task of sorting needles out of haystacks after a local seamstress had crashed a wagon of supplies into a barn. After which the conniving Jonin had them tied together and attempt, quite unsuccessfully, an obstacle course.

Naruto and Sasuke probably would have managed the task, Kakashi supposed, had it not been for Sakura also having been lashed to them. Haruno Sakura had improved quite a bit in the last couple months, mostly because she had to keep up with her incredibly driven teammates. In spite of that improvement the sensation of being bound to her 'Sasuke-kun' had been too much and she had quickly passed out forcing her teammates to try to lug her dead weight through the course. After an hour of failed attempts Kakashi finally called it a quits and allowed the Genin to unbind themselves which brought them back to their bridge. Sakura still lay unconscious but both teenage boys approached Kakashi with pleading looks.

"Kakashi-Sensei you know how we constantly laud your incredible teaching prowess," Naruto began with a subservient tone. Kakashi whipped Icha Icha out of his pack and cut Naruto off.

"Yesterday you called me a 'shit obsessed sadist'," Kakashi replied smiling behind his book.

"... regardless of outbursts that have been made in the intense fires of your marvelous training methods, Naruto and I are eternally grateful for your condescension to train us," Sasuke returned.

"Indeed the great wisdom with which you have led us through team training exercises has impressed your grandeur upon us," Naruto remarked with a smile gesturing to Sasuke and himself.

"I recall you observing just a week ago that I looked like a 'scarecrow unfit to protect a pile of dung'," Kakashi again interjected. Sasuke coughed in a way that sounded suspiciously like, 'shut the fuck up Naruto'.

"What Naruto and I are trying to say is we were hoping you could teach us some elemental training since we have been so dedicated to your training thus far. We would be humbly grateful," Sasuke finally came to the crux of the Genin's attempt at brown-nosing. Kakashi took a moment with his response, he had been rather… cruel on them thus far and other than their verbal barbs they had done everything he had asked. The Jonin took another moment to consider the two Genin, both were talented and had demonstrated skill with elemental ninjutsu. _'Eh, what's the harm in getting them started. At minimum I can rub it in Gai's face next time we go get something to drink.'_

 _"_ Very well, I will teach you the first step in Fire and Earth training," Kakashi answered pointing to Sasuke and Naruto in turn. Putting his book away the Jonin led the Genin to the edge of the forest and plucked the nearest leaf off a tree and showed it to Sasuke, then placing it between his hand Kakashi concentrated for a instant. There was a flash of light between his hands that caused both boys to start in surprise. Kakashi then opened his hands to reveal nothing but ash that the wind carried away. "The first step of Elemental Fire Training is simple: Heat. Channel your chakra in such a way to produce heat and burn a leaf like so." With that Kakashi left Sasuke with his leaves and led Naruto a short way away.

"For Elemental Earth Training the first step involves shaping." Crouching Kakashi placed his hand on the bare ground and focused. Standing he held up his hand showing Naruto a leaf in every detail but made entirely out of dirt. "You must channel your chakra in such a way that you can mold earth into the precise shape you desire." Kakashi left his second student to play in the dirt and took a seat at the base of a tree to read. _'I suppose it is really time to begin upping the level of their individual abilities. Their teamwork, particular Naruto and Sasuke is quite good for rookie Genin.'_ Kakashi spent the next few minutes pondering the direction he would direct his team in training over the next few weeks before he was interrupted by the approach of the boys.

"Hey Kakashi! Check it out!" Naruto called casually. Looking up Naruto directed Kakashi's attention to Sasuke who cupped a leaf in his hand that quickly leapt to flame. Kakashi's shocked expression turned to Naruto who stooped and almost casually plucked a handful of dirt from the ground that formed, as if by its own volition, into a leaf before Kakashi's eyes. "Do you think you could teach us the next step?" Naruto asked innocently, a tone that was ruined of effectiveness by his huge smirk.

"Maybe tomorrow," Kakashi responded absently waving away the boy's protests. _'What the hell!? I know they are both able to do Ninjutsu but that was crazy!'_ Shaking his head Kakashi took off leaving the boys to their own infuriating devices. _'Maybe it's time to start in on C-Rank missions…'_

—

 _Konoha Mission's Office - The Next Day_

"Team Seven welcome! What will it be today?" A blonde Chunin working one of the Missions Desks greeted the squad as Kakashi led them forward. "I've got another request in from the Inuzuka clan for Kennel cleaning, I know that's your MO Kakashi," the Chunin held up a D-rank scroll with a to big smile directed at the horrified Genin of Team Seven. As Naruto began to swell with rage at the prospect of another shitty, literally, D-rank mission their Sensei spoke up.

"Not today Yuko, but thank you for the offer. Today Team Seven is requesting a C-rank Mission." Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura froze in astonishment. Yuko, the blonde Chunin, for her part looked taken aback as well by Kakashi's request.

"Of course, if your Genin could just present me with their licenses." Robotically the three stunned Genin handed over their official Ninja licenses. Yuko eyed each critically for a moment before nodding her head. "Right this appears to be the first C-rank for this squad which means you need to head upstairs before this office can assign you a C-rank Missions."

"Upstairs?" Kakashi asked in puzzlement.

"This procedure was probably different back when you were a Genin. Hokage-Sama reserves the right to give C-rank Mission approval to Genin Squads, he also reserves the privilege of assigning the first C-rank Mission." Finally understanding Kakashi led his team upstairs to the receiving area for appointments with the Hokage. As they waited for their audience the Genin of Team Seven finally broke out of their shocked silence.

"Sensei is this for real?" Naruto asked with barely contained excitement.

"Thank you Kakashi-Sensei!" Sasuke quickly followed with a respectful bow.

"Hey hey of course this is real, do you think I'm joking about this?" The Jonin responded casually. The boys absorbed this each become increasingly excited. Sakura on the other hand appeared disturbed.

"Are we ready for something like this Sensei?" Before Kakashi had a chance to respond Naruto, finally mentally catching up to the situation, butted in.

"Of course we are Sakura! Besides we are about to meet the freaking Hokage! He's the most badass ninja in the entire world!" Naruto declared with glee. Team Seven's conversation was stopped by the introduction of a aged but strong voice.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Team Seven please come in." Standing at the entrance in his ceremonial robes was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen the Sandaime Hokage. Immediately silenced by the sudden appearance of a living legend Team Seven filtered into the audience chamber quietly and were momentarily standing at attention before a great wooden desk that the Hokage set himself down at. "Kakashi it is wonderful to see you with a squad of Genin all your own, it has been a long time coming."

"Yes Hokage-Sama."

"I hear you are requesting a C-rank Mission for your team." Kakashi simply nodded casual but still deferential to the head of the leaf. Sarutobi drew his long wooden pipe to his lips and took a long inhalation. The three teenagers stood at attention in nearly identical stances, feet together and hands at their sides. That was where the similarities ended. Haruno Sakura was so nervous that she was nearly trembling. Uchiha Sasuke maintained a reserved stillness something to be expected from the scion of a great clan. Finally… Naruto had a look of deep anticipation written across every feature. "Very well, I will trust your judgment in this Kakashi." Turning his attention back to the Genin he addressed them more formally. "I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha do acknowledge Team Seven under the tutelage of Hatake Kakashi is deemed eligible for C-rank Missions." The Hokage spoke with an air of authority so profound that it seemed to resound within Naruto's chest. "Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Naruto with this decision Konoha is placing trust upon you. You now are responsible for upholding both the safety and reputation of Konoha as representatives beyond the walls of our village. Take care that the Will of Fire burns bright within you and become great Shinobi!"

"Yes Hokage-Sama!" The three responded together with varying degrees of emotion. At that Sarutobi allowed himself a small smile and even a nod of approval for the three Genin.

"Now it just so happens I have a C-rank Mission Request on hand, an escort mission to the Land of Waves."


End file.
